


Heart Ranger 2

by netafaye



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluffy, Lesbian Relationship, some smut, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2018-04-29 18:15:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 65,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5137721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/netafaye/pseuds/netafaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Heart Ranger</p>
<p>Story picks up one year after the ending of Heart Ranger. Clarke and Lexa are in the process of trying to become parents. They are still very much in love as they face new worries and challenges.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how long this story will be. The original was 100 chapters. I'm writing this as part of NaNoWriMo so it will at least be 50,000 words. Knowing me though it will be longer. :)

 

Firefighter and paramedic Clarke Griffin drove slowly down the lane towards her home. The home that she shared with her wife Lexa, their dog Max and cat Katnip. She clocked out at work fifteen minutes ago and she was grateful to be going home. Her twenty-four hour shift had been a busy one and she was looking forward to a nice quiet evening with her wife and fur babies.

She could see several lights on in the house as she got closer. Clarke knew that Lexa was inside. Waiting for her. Dinner would almost be done. They had plans to open their memory box that night. Things that they kept over the last year, concert, movies and sporting event tickets. Cards that they had given each other. Anything that they wanted to keep they put into the box and on the day of their anniversary, today, they would take time and open the box to see and reflect over everything that they had done the past year.

_I can’t believe it has been a year already. Seems just like yesterday we said I do and bought this place._ Clarke pushed the button on the remote for the garage door and pulled in next to Lexa’s Trailblazer. Turning her truck off she hit the remote and the garage door began to close. Grabbing her gym bag Clarke got out of her truck and went through the garage door. Heading up the back porch steps Clarke went through the sliding glass door of their house. She knew Lexa would anticipate her arrival and have it unlocked for her. Upon entering the kitchen Clarke’s senses were overcome by the amazing smell of dinner and the breathtaking sight of her love standing at the island counter tossing the salad that would go with dinner.

“Hi honey.” Clarke smiled in greeting as she turned and closed the sliding glass door.

“Hi sweetheart. How was your day?” Lexa finished tossing the salad and set the bowl aside.

“It was…”Clarke started walking towards Lexa and began to tell her how her shift had gone when her path was blocked by both Max and Katnip who had come over to say hello. “Of course I was going to say hello to you too.” Katnip was winding her way around Clarke’s legs rubbing up against her and Max barked once and stood with his tail wagging frantically. Clarke squatted down so she could reach and pet both their dog and cat.

“I see the important ones get your attention right away.” Lexa tried to keep a smile off her face as she teased her wife but she failed. _They all are too adorable_.

With a final scratch behind both animal’s ears Clarke stood and walked over to Lexa. Clarke pressed her lips firmly to Lexa’s while her left hand moved up to grasp Lexa behind her head. Increasing the intensity of the kiss. Clarke could feel Lexa’s hand move underneath her jacket and shirt to touch the skin of her lower back just the way Lexa knew Clarke liked it.

As Clarke eased back from Lexa’s lips she leaned in and kissed her chin as she looked up into Lexa’s green eyes. Lexa had such beautiful eyes and it may be a cliché but Clarke often got lost looking in them. _How did I get so lucky?_ “You my love are the most important one in my life. I love you and happy anniversary.”

Lexa pulled Clarke into a hug and held her close. She would never get tired of the overwhelming pleasant feeling she got when Clarke was near. Turning her head she whispered into Clarke’s ear. “I love you too. Happy anniversary.” With a final squeeze she let Clarke go. “So how was work?” Lexa half turned and picked up the salad bowl as she rubbed Clark on her shoulder.

Clarke moved away to get the plates from the cabinet and silverware from the drawer. “Busy.” She followed Lexa and sat the plates and silverware down on the table. “We had an accident out on highway thirty-eight and six. A car blew through a stop sign and hit a truck. We had to take both drivers to the hospital. We got a call to take a seven year old to the hospital. He got into his parent’s garage and found his dad’s nail gun.” Clarke paused as she admired the view of Lexa’s backside as she opened the oven door and bent over to pull out a roasting pan. Clarke shook her head and smiled as she turned to the cabinet and got down two glasses. “Anyway he shot himself in the foot and he had to have surgery to remove the nail.”

“Poor kid.” Lexa carried the pan to the table and placed it on some hot pads.

“Yeah, I thought Bellamy was going to deck the father. He wasn’t being helpful and just yelled at the kid for getting into his stuff.” Clarke filled the glasses with ice tea and sat them on the table. “Do we have everything?

“Yes.” Lexa came over and sat down next to Clarke.

“We still have cake for tonight?” Clarke asked lifting the cake pan’s lid and peeking inside.

“There is one piece left. The kids had one piece each today. Though I’m sure if there had been more they would have ate more.”

Clarke laughed knowing her little cousins and knowing while Vesta was grateful that Lexa watched her kids today she wouldn’t have wanted them coming home high on sugar. There had been five pieces left of the cake that they had left over from their anniversary party on Friday night with friends and family.

“We lost a piece to the floor. Becky accidentally knocked it over and before we could get to it Katnip was all over it.”

Clarke rolled her eyes imagining how fast Katnip would have pounced on the piece of cake. “Of course she was.”

Lexa began putting roast, potatoes and carrots on Clarke’s plate. “So what did Bellamy actually do with this kid’s father?”

“Bell and Monte took him outside for some air while Raven and I took care of the kid. Just a stupid accident. He didn’t even know what it was he picked up and was just curious. Speaking of kids how were the little munchkins today?”

“Good. We stayed inside mostly. I got the boys set up downstairs to play games and Becky was up here watching cartoons and doing a little art project. She did a little drawing and then took a nap in the spare bedroom. They were all good today.”

“Is Becky excited about playing T-ball again this year?” Clarke knew that Becky had a lot of fun playing last year and she had Lexa for a coach. Lexa had taken time to work more with Becky and a few of the other kids that needed more help last year and practices were going to start soon.

“I should say so. She wanted to go out and practice today but I told her it’s too wet and muddy right now.”

“Oh come on, like that would have stopped her.” The snow was mostly melted and their yard was pretty swampy. Clarke knew Becky would have loved to go out and play in it.

“No, no it wouldn’t have. However, she would have been a muddy mess from head to foot. She would have needed a shower and she didn’t have a change of clothes here.”

Clarke laughed and covered her mouth. “You can just imagine it though can’t you? What she would have looked like all covered in mud.”

“Yes, I imagine everything covered with mud except for her eyes. It would be all over her face, her clothes and her hair which I’m sure would take several washes to get out.”

“Of course Becky would love it.” _It sounds like fun actually._

“Yes, she would.” Lexa agreed.

“I think it would have been fun. Out playing in the mud.” Clarke reached over and ran a fingertip along Lexa’s forearm. “What do you say when it gets warmer you and I go out there and play in the mud. Then we can take turns washing the mud off of each other.”

Lexa leaned forward across the table. “I’m in babe. However, you do realize that means you will get a bunch of mud down your shirt?”

“You would have to catch me first.” Clarke said, while leaning closer to Lexa.

“Oh I would have no problems catching you.” A slow smile spread across Lexa’s face. “If you want to go play, or wrestle in the mud I’m going to make sure every inch of you is covered.”

“I will get it all over you too and I will definitely enjoy cleaning it off later.” That was the nice benefit of having a large walk in shower. They could both fit inside and had a lot of room left to make sure the other was squeaky clean.

“As would I.” Lexa bent forward and placed a soft kiss on Clarke’s mouth then leaned back into her seat to finish eating. While Lexa would have enjoyed making doubly sure that there wasn’t any mud in any crease or crevice on Clarke’s body she doubted they would actually do that. Though entertaining the thought of getting to remove mud from Clarke’s breasts was nice.

“So are you ready for our appointment on Wednesday?” Clarke asked.

“Hon, I should be asking you if you are ready.” Lexa took Clarke’s hand. “You’re the one that is going to be lying on the table and actually getting the procedure done.”

Clarke nodded and squeezed Lexa’s hand. “Yes, I’m ready. We have been talking about having kids for a while now. Hell, even before we were married. We’ve been to the doctor, did the consultations, picked our donor and I’ve been taking the vitamins. I am ready.”

“I’m ready too. I can’t wait to go through this experience with you and be a parent with you.”

“I’m going to gain weight.” Clarke knew that Lexa wouldn’t care. They talked about it before but she was still concerned about how Lexa would view her pregnant body and how it might look afterwards.

“You will still be beautiful.” _I can’t wait_.

“I’m just reminding you my body is going to go through a drastic change _.” I’m nervous that you will see me differently once I’m as big as a house._

Lexa picked up Clarke’s hand and kissed it. “You’re going to be beautiful. I know how pregnancy and childbirth can change a woman’s body. What could happen. I know that how our life has been together so far is going to change. I see are lives becoming richer, more loving. All I care about, what I hope for, is that you and the baby are safe and healthy. That is what matters to me.”

Since they started putting the plan in place to have a baby Lexa was looking forward to being a mom. There were a lot of joys ahead of them as well as challenges. She knew it wouldn’t be easy. She was up for the challenge, but still things didn’t work out how you planned them all the time and Lexa was concerned about the what ifs of the pregnancy. Things could go wrong and while she wanted to be a parent with Clarke in the worse way she worried about Clarke.

Lexa didn’t care if Clarke abdomen went back to looking like it did now, she didn’t care if there were stretch marks or if her boobs sagged. It didn’t matter if their sex life changed. What matters was that Clarke was healthy and happy. That Clarke lived. If anything happened to Clarke it would devastate Lexa. Without Clarke Lexa knew she wouldn’t want to go on. Stretch marks didn’t faze her. Clarke possibly dying in childbirth did.

They were already holding hands as Clarke covered their joined hands with her right hand. “I love you. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”

“I love you. With you at my side I am looking forward to everything that life brings us.”

Clarke sighed happily. “How about we get this cleaned up and go look through our memory box.”

“That reminds me. My little mini me decided that our memory box for the next year needed to be prettied up.”

Lexa stood and walked into their bedroom and returned with a shoe box that Becky had decorated. Lexa sat back down at the table to show Clarke.

“She covered it in red construction paper because the fire trucks are red at the fire station.” Lexa picked up the lid. On the top in rainbow colors were Clarke and Lexa’s name and the number two. Inside the box Becky had used the color green. “Because trees are green. Then we have Sparky here.” Lexa turned the box around and pointed at a Dalmatian dog that Becky had colored and glued to the box. “Of course we have the Moose here.” Lexa flipped the box around to another picture that Becky had colored. The rest of the box was covered in red and pink hearts that the little girl had colored and glued onto the box.

Clarke placed the lid onto the box. “She is such a sweet creative kid.”

“Yes, she is, just like her cousin.” Lexa smiled thinking about how Becky had asked permission to decorate the box. “She wanted it to look nice for us.”

“Just think love if I’m able to get pregnant right away we can add pictures of the ultrasound and first baby pictures to the box for this year.”

Lexa reached over and touched Clarke’s stomach. “Pictures of you during the pregnancy.”

“Do you really want to document how big I’m going to get?”

“Absolutely. Every single thing about it. I want to fill a closet full of these boxes with all of the things we did, what our kids are going to do. Fifty or so years from now I want to pull out these boxes again just so I can relive our life with you.”

Clarke’s eyes started to tear up. “And have our grandkids and great grandkids decorated theses boxes for us?”

“Yeah, though by then they may be putting a walker or a hearing aid on the box but there will always be hearts.”

Clarke chuckled as she wiped a tear away. “Yes, darling there will always be hearts.” Clarke stood and kissed Lexa’s forehead. “Now let’s get this cleaned up so we can look at our box for this past year and when we are done I plan on giving you a few more good memories.”

_Oh it will be beyond good._


	2. Chapter 2

Clarke and Lexa sat in the waiting room of Dr. Lisa Jennings, a colleague of Clarke’s mother. Abby had made the referral to the OB/GYN when Clarke told her that they were ready to start the process of having a baby. They had met with Dr. Jennings several times for consultations and testing. Today she was going to do the intrauterine insemination on Clarke.

Clarke was flipping through a pregnancy and newborn magazine while they waited to be called back. The appointment and procedure itself wasn’t going to take long. It was almost like getting a pap smear but instead of scraping for cells Dr. Jennings was going to administer sperm through a small tube inserted through her cervix into her uterus. After a brief resting period she could go about her normal activities, which today included going home and curling up on the couch with a book. Lexa had taken the day off and they planned on having a quiet day at home once they were done.

Lexa was watching the TV mounted on the wall. It was on a cooking channel presenting the stations many competition cooking shows. _Do they have any shows anymore where they actually teach people to cook something?_ Here attention left the TV and she looked around the room. There was one other woman in the waiting room with them. Lexa didn’t know where the woman was at in her pregnancy but it was obvious based on her appearance that she was close to the end of it. She too was flipping through a magazine like Clarke.

Clarke closed the magazine and placed it on the table next to their seats. She leaned over and put her head on Lexa’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around Lexa’s arm and hugged it to herself.

“You okay honey?” Lexa turned her head and kissed the top of Clarke’s head where it rested on her shoulder.

“Yes, just tired today. I didn’t sleep all that great last night.” Clarke liked being this close to Lexa, especially today when they were taking such a big step in their lives. Lexa’s presence always provided her with a sense of comfort and safety.

“How come?” Lexa reached up with her hand and placed it against Clarke’s where it rested against her arm.

“Excited…nervous…hoping this works.”

“Me too sweetie and remember if it doesn’t work the first time we can do the procedure again.” Lexa looked up at the other woman that was waiting in the room with them. She was watching them. When she noticed Lexa looking back at her she looked away. A small smile on her face. “We do have several options.”

“Yes, we do. “Clarke was going to say more when the door to the office opened and a nurse stepped out. “Griffin.”

“Here we go.” Clarke said as she and Lexa both stood and followed the nurse down a hall and back into an exam room.

“First I need to get your weight.” The nurse gestured to a scale that was in the room. She wrote down Clarke’s weight on a piece of paper when the digital display showed Clarke’s weight. “Go ahead and take a seat on the exam table.”

Clarke took off the long sleeve button up shirt she was wearing and handed it to Lexa. She sat on the table and after putting the shirt on the only chair in the room Lexa moved to stand next to her.

“Next I need to get a set of vitals.” The nurse took Clarke’s blood pressure, checked her pulse and temperature. “Anything change since your last visit?”

“No, nothing.” Clarke said.

“Okay.” The nurse pulled open a drawer and pulled out a sheet. “Go ahead and remove your pants and underwear. You can keep your socks on if you want. Cover your lower body with this sheet and Dr. Jennings should be in soon.”

Clarke nodded to the nurse as she left. Hopping off the table Clarke kicked off her shoes and began to take off her jeans and underwear. Lexa took them from her when she had them off and put them on the chair behind her. Getting back on the exam table Clarke unfolded the sheet and placed it over her lower body.

“Now we wait some more.” Clarke said.

Lexa hugged her from the side. “We will have a lot of waiting ahead of us but it will be worth it.”

“Yes it will be honey.”

“I’m surprised your mother didn’t offer to come supervise.” Lexa loved Clarke’s mother but she could be a little too involved sometimes. It wasn’t out of the need to control but rather love and concern for her daughters. She wanted the best for them.

“If it was anyone else but Dr. Jennings I’m sure she would be. I’m just glad that she is the best because I don’t want to have the conversation with my mother on why I wouldn’t want her here watching.” Clarke didn’t want her mother to see her with her legs in stirrups and spread open. She hated even going in and having her pap tests done. Her mother was a doctor, it was nothing that she hadn’t seen before. She had seen her naked before but there were some things that she didn’t want her seeing.

Lexa laughed thinking about another member of their family. “At least your mom would want to be here to make sure the procedure went as it should. Betty would want to be here to take pictures that way she could show it to our kid later and tell them this was how they were conceived.”

“Yeah, she offered. I told her no.” Clarke grandmother Betty knew that they were keeping track of things that happened during the year and she had offered to film the procedure. “She wanted to know if we wanted to keep it in our memory box for the year.”

Lexa didn’t know that Betty had offered but it made sense. Grandma Betty could be a little out there. She was eccentric and didn’t have much of a filter when it came to speaking her mind. She was truly her own person and funny. Along with her wife Alice they would make awesome great-great grandmothers. “Of course she did and I’m glad you told her no.” Lexa didn’t think their children needed to be seeing pictures of their parents like that.

There was a knock at the door before it opened and Dr. Lisa Jennings, a woman close to Abby’s age with short greying hair, warm blue eyes and an ever present smile came in carrying a tray with her of all the equipment she would need for the procedure. She placed it on an over bed table. “Hello ladies, how are you today?” She shook Clarke and Lexa’s hands.

“Doing well.” Clarke answered. “Excited about finally doing this.”

“We are good and definitely excited about doing this today.” Lexa agreed. _And a little nervous too._ Lexa wanted everything to go well.

“You should be excited. This is a big day for you. So then how about we get started.” Dr. Jennings pulled the stirrups out of the table. “Go ahead and lay back and put your feet in the stirrups. Try to relax and I will get everything ready.”

Lexa moved to the foot of the table to help Clarke get her feet in the stirrups and reposition the sheet to make sure that Clarke was covered. “Feel okay?”

“Yeah, it’s good, thanks.” Clarke took Lexa’s hand when Lexa moved back up to stand about shoulder level next to her.

Dr. Jennings went to the sink to wash her hands. Putting on gloves she prepared the speculum, catheter and sperm sample. Once done she came over and sat on a stool at the foot of the exam table. “Okay Clarke, can you scoot your butt closer to the end of the table?”

Clarke grasped the sides of the table to help with some leverage and moved a few inches down. She grabbed Lexa’s hand again one she was in position. She took a deep breath and tried to relax while waiting for the procedure to begin.

“I’m going to insert the speculum now. You’re going to feel a little pressure.”

“Look at me.” Lexa said bending over so she was close to Clarke’s face.

Clarke focused on Lexa’s green eyes as she felt the speculum go in. She always hated this part when she had pap tests. She felt and heard the doctor gradually opening the speculum. She squeezed Lexa’s hand lightly.

“Doing okay?” Lexa whispered as she brushed some hair away from Clarke’s face.

Clarke smiled. “Yeah, fine. How are you?”

“I’m great.” Lexa kissed Clarke’s forehead. Trying to provide some comfort for her wife.

“I’m inserting the tube now.” Dr. Jennings said.

“I love you.” Lexa kissed Clarke gently on the lips.

“And I love you.” Clarke said when the kissed ended. She pulled their joined hands up closer to her chest.

“Okay ladies, all done.” Dr. Jennings announced a few moments later as she removed the tube then closed and removed the speculum. She stood and helped Lexa get Clarke out of the stirrups and up higher onto the exam table. “You just rest here for a while and I will be back in.” She adjusted the sheet to make sure Clarke was covered. “Doing okay?” She asked Clarke.

“Yes, thanks.”

“Good.” Dr. Jennings gave them each a warm smile and picked up the tray as she exited the room.

“Just like that it’s all done.” Lexa rubbed Clarke’s shoulder as she adjusted the pillow underneath Clarke’s head.

“That part didn’t take long at all.”

Lexa saw Clarke shiver and goose bumps appear on her arm. “Are you warm enough? I can go ask for a blanket.” Lexa asked.

“Sweetie I’m fine. Just stay here with me.”

“I don’t plan on ever leaving your side.”

“Good, because I always want you there.” Clarke yawned. “I may need to take a nap when we get home.”

“Care if I join you?”

Clarke smiled up at her wife. “I prefer it.”

They waited about ten minutes more before Dr. Jennings returned and told them Clarke could get dressed and that they could go. She reminded them that Clarke may experience some cramping and a small amount of spotting from the procedure. They were to wait forty-eight hours before having sex. In two weeks they could take an at home pregnancy test. If it was positive they were to make an appointment to come in and have blood drawn to confirm the results. If it was negative and Clarke got her period they were to set up another appointment and try again.

 

Clarke fell asleep on the way home and woke up again when Lexa hit the button to open up their garage door. She groaned as she straightened up in her seat. “Sorry for falling asleep on you honey.”

“Don’t worry about it. You needed your rest.”

Clarke noticed the rain spatters on the windshield. “It started raining?”

Lexa drove her truck into the garage. “Yes, about half way home.”

Clarke imagined getting to cuddle up with Lexa on the couch later. “Good day for naps and staying indoors.”

“Yes, it is.” Lexa parked the truck and hit the button to close the garage door. Getting out of her vehicle she waited till Clarke joined her by the door and they both headed into the house.

Walking into the kitchen they saw that Katnip had made herself comfortable on the island counter in the kitchen.

“Katnip you know you are not supposed to be up there.” Lexa picked up the cat and gently put her down.

“She sure likes to lay down on that counter. It’s either there or in the kitchen sink.”

Lexa put her keys on a hook by the coffee machine. “I don’t know why she does that. You think it has to do with cats liking boxes that she has to sit in there all the time?”

“Could be babe. I don’t know. We have weird cat.”

Lexa came over and hugged Clarke. For some reason she felt like she needed to keep touching her. “Yes we do. So are you still tired?”

Clarke rested her head against Lexa’s shoulder. “”Yeah, I think I just want to put on my jammies and go to bed for a couple hours. Do you still want to lay down with me?”

“Yes. Why don’t you go get changed into your jammies. I will take Max out and join you soon.”

“Okay.” Clarke kissed Lexa before turning around and heading towards the bedroom.

“Hey Max, let’s go outside for a little bit.”

Max followed Lexa eagerly out the door into the light rain.

 

Lexa was standing at the stove heating up some chicken noodle soup. She had put some thawed bread dough in the oven that they made one weekend and froze. Homemade bread and soup was perfect on a day like today.

She had laid down with Clarke earlier but after napping for an hour she got up. Katnip was sleeping at the foot of the bed when Lexa quietly left. She reached out and scratched behind Katnip’s ear as she walked by causing the cat to purr. She closed the bedroom door almost all of the way so as to not disturb Clarke but to let Katnip out when she wanted. Lexa wanted Clarke to get as much rest as possible. Some amazing things could be going on in her body within the next couple of days.

It was still raining and the wind had picked up. Lexa had the volume of the TV in the living room turned down low so it wouldn’t disturb Clarke but she had wanted to see the weather report for the next couple of days. If it continued to rain she would have to worry about flooding along some of the trails which were already water logged by the melting snow. Once it dried out some she would have to walk the trails and see what needed to be fixed or replaced

Lexa rushed over to where she left her phone as it started to ring. Grabbing it quickly she saw that it was a call from Clarke’s mom.

Lexa answered the phone promptly. “Hey mom, how are you?”

“I’m okay Lexa, how are you?”

“I’m good. So what’s up?” Lexa walked back over to the pan she left on the table and stirred the soup. She checked the timer on the stove to see how much longer the bread had.

“I was trying to call Clarke but she didn’t answer her phone.”

“She has it turned off. She is taking a nap right now.”

“Oh, okay. So how did it go today?”

“It went smoothly. We were in and out of the office within an hour.”

“Good.”

Lexa turned her head when she heard Clarke come into the kitchen. “She is up now. Would you like to talk to her?” Lexa held out the phone to Clarke. “It’s your mom.”

Clarke yawned and took the phone from Lexa. With one hand she held the phone to her ear and the other she wrapped around Lexa’s waist and leaned her head against her wife’s back. “Hello mom.”

Lexa listened to their brief conversation as she continued to stand at the stove with Clarke pressed against her back. She didn’t move till Clarke ended the conversation.

“Mom was just checking to see how it went today.” Clarke said as she walked over to the counter and put Lexa’s phone down. She was more awake now then she was when she first walked into the kitchen.

“So I gathered.” Lexa turned off the timer a second before it was to go off. Grabbing some oven mitts she removed the bread from the oven to let it cool some. They loved eating bread that was still warm.

“I see the weather hasn’t gotten any better.” Clarke came back over towards Lexa and leaned against the island counter. “It smells amazing in here.”

“Yes it does. Dinner should be done soon. Why don’t you go into the living room and relax and I will bring it out to you when it’s done.”

“You’re so sweet.” Clarke walked over to Lexa and kissed her before heading into the living room. “Do you care if I change the channel?”

“No, hon go ahead.”

Clarke picked up the remote and looked through the station guide to see what was on. Finding a repeat of one of their favorite shows she changed the channel and relaxed on the couch. Max got up from his dog bed and came over to get some attention. Clarke absently petted Max’s head as she watched the show. Several minutes later Lexa came into the living room and handed her a tray with a bowl of soup and a thick slice of homemade bread and butter. “Thank you sweetie.”

“You’re welcome.” Lexa went back into the kitchen and got her own tray. She came back into the living room and sat by Clarke. “I don’t think I’ve seen this one yet.”

Clarke leaned over and kissed Lexa’s shoulder. “Thank you for everything today Lexa. For being so supportive, taking care of me and loving me.”

“It was my pleasure.” Lexa smiled and looked down at Clarke’s soup bowl. “How is the soup?”

“Very good. The best chicken noodle soup ever.” Clarke took another spoonful. It was literally the best chicken noodle soup she ever had.

“I’m glad you like it. There is more out there if you want.”

“This is perfect.” Clarke sighed. “This right here. Sitting on the couch next to you is perfect.”

“I agree. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.” Max nudged Lexa’s hand. “Yes, that includes you too.” Lexa scratched behind Max’s ear.

Lexa and Clarke both hoped soon that they would have an addition to their family. Eventually more than one. If they were blessed with one child they hoped to have a second child or more so their children would have siblings. There were plenty of bedrooms in the house for multiple kids but right now it needed to start with one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI not a fluffy chapter.

“Good morning boss how are you doing today?” Gus came into the ranger station and dropped a McDonald’s bag containing an egg white muffin on Lexa’s desk. He gently placed the coffee cup down next to the bag and headed over to his own desk.

“Great Gus how are you this morning?” Lexa flipped the tab up on the coffee. The coffee from McDonalds was always extremely hot and Lexa knew it would have to cool down some before she could even attempt to drink it.

“Good, I will be glad when this damn rain quits. Lincoln said the Grimm trail got washed out down by the creek yesterday.”

“Yeah, I read that in the logbook.” Lexa unwrapped her breakfast sandwich.

When Lexa lived at the ranger station Gus was always bringing in breakfast and now that Lexa was living closer to town she could drive into town, grab breakfast and bring it into work. She could also go into her old home and make them breakfast in the morning. The kitchen was pretty much still intact but the building itself had been turned into a discovery center for kids to come in and learn about the different aspects of nature and the animals that were common to the area. Doing so would take away the enjoyment that Gus had of bringing breakfast in for them so the tradition a continued.

“Since Harvey and your mother in law have me on this new diet I’ve gotten used to these things. An egg white mcmuffin is the only fast food I am allowed to have anymore as part of our compromise.”

“And your efforts are showing.” Lexa thought Gus looked a lot thinner.

Gus had put on some weight and after getting a checkup he found out his cholesterol had been too high as well as his blood pressure. Abby advised a change in diet, medication, more physical activity and stress reduction.

“Yeah, weight is down fifty pounds and my blood work is better. I haven’t exercises so much since my military days. My knees certainly don’t handle the workouts like they used to.”

“Well you are becoming an old man.” Lexa smiled as she took a bite of her breakfast sandwich.

“Yeah wait till you have a kid and all the stress and worry you’re going to go through. I’m going to laugh my ass off when you get your first grey hair.”

“My hair isn’t going to be grey, it will be a lovely shade of white and I will have earned every single one of them I’m sure.”

“So how did it go yesterday?” Gus shook his head and laughed. “Every time I think about what you two did the uh…what is it called?”

“Intrauterine insemination.”

“Yeah that…well anyway, every time I think of that I imagine some doctor coming towards Clarke with a turkey baster.”

Lexa paused as she was about to take another bit into her breakfast. “Seriously? You know that isn’t how it’s done right? Did Betty or Alice tell you that?”

“No, but you hear people joke about it. You see it even in some TV shows and movies. When I think of two lesbian women, you two, who are trying to get pregnant that is what I have an image of in my head, not saying it was medically accurate.”

“Well let me educate you big guy.”

“No, that is okay. I don’t need to know the specifics. I know that wasn’t exactly how it was done. I was just letting you know that is what I imagine when I hear the word insemination. Anyway it went well?”

“As smoothly as those things can go. It didn’t take very long and Clarke did very well. We had a nice little nap when we got home and spent the rest of the evening watching movies.”

“So what is the chanced of her getting pregnant the first time?”

“There are a lot of factors that go into that. Clarke is young and healthy. Usually this is often done when couples have some type of fertility problem so the chances increase since Clarke doesn’t have fertility issues that we know of. The timing of ovulation and insemination are important. Still it might take several rounds of insemination for her to get pregnant. After each round the chances of pregnancy go up.”

“So say that she does get pregnant. How long is she going to continue to work?”

Lexa took a deep breath. It wasn’t something that they necessarily fought about but there were a few areas of disagreement when they discussed how long Clarke would continue to work. “That is a good question and one that hasn’t been answered yet. Clarke wants to work as long as possible. But one thing that is a concern, one of my concerns, is the effect of heat from fires on the developing baby. Yes, she will have their turnout gear on but you’re still pretty warm in it. She will still feel the heat from the fires. But heat is not good, especially the first trimester. Not to mention the smoke and the chemicals she could still breathe in. Even if she is there just to provide medical for the other people going into fight the fire. Clarke could still do some runs on the medical side, depending on what the call is. She has talked to Marcus about this and he has reviewed the fire department’s police and the fire department has to do some reasonable accommodations for her. She could go on light duty, though I don’t know if anything is exactly light duty at the fire department.”

Lexa understood Clarke’s desire to continue to work as long as possible. Safely. As always Lexa’s concern was for Clarke’s safety and her health and if she was pregnant she would worry about the safety and health of the baby. Which meant that Lexa didn’t want Clarke to take any unnecessary risks. If Clarke had to take light duty or not work all together Lexa was going to support it. Anything to assure Clarke and the baby’s safety.

“I don’t see Clarke liking the idea of light duty.” Gus stated.

“No, she wouldn’t but she also really wants a baby, we really want a baby, and she is willing to do what she needs to do to make that happen.”

Lexa finished eating. She threw away her sandwich, checked the temperature of her coffee and it was just now drinkable. She was going to head out and check a few things and see if any more trails had flooded out since yesterday. Grabbing a portable radio she waved to Gus and headed out.

 

Clarke was changing into her uniform when Octavia came inside the locker room. She pounded on the side of the locker. “Hey Clarke, hurry up and get out here.”

“What’s up Octavia?” Clarke asked as she tightened the ties on her boots.

“Just hurry up and get out here.” Octavia disappeared out the door.

Clarke quickly put on her other boot and tied it. She wondered what the rush was about since they didn’t have a meeting this morning. She shut and locked her locker then went out into their living area. Everyone was standing around and turned to look at her when she came through the doorway. Her eyes quickly found the source of all the excitement.

“Wick!” Clarke hurried over and hugged the blonde haired man. “Are you back?”

“As of tomorrow I will be.” Kyle Wick replied.

It had been a little over a year that Wick, Clarke, Octavia and Jasper had gone into a house to fight a fire and search for occupants of the house. There was an explosion that killed Jasper and had severely injured Wick. He had been unconscious in the hospital for a time and had to undergo several surgeries to repair the damage that the explosion caused. His injuries healed and then Wick started the process of getting back in shape enough to be able to recertify to be on the department. Part of the requirements for recertification had been mandatory counseling.

“Raven why didn’t you tell me he would be back today.” Clarke asked her coworker and Wick’s girlfriend.

Raven Reyes shrugged and smiled. “He wanted it to be a surprise.”

Clarke turned back to Wick. “It’s so good to see you. I’m so happy that your back.”

“He is too.” Raven said. “He thinks I’ve been mothering him too much.” She rolled her eyes. “First I wasn’t giving him enough attention, now he gets all sorts of attention and he has to complain about it. Men, you can’t make them happy.”

“You do make me happy babe, but there are some things that I don’t think you and my mother need to discuss…and you know what I’m talking about.” Wick looked embarrassed.

At first Raven and Kyle’s parents didn’t get along but over the course of the year and during his recovery Raven and Kyle’s mother started to bond. Wick would say too well.

“Oh you wouldn’t know what to do if we weren’t giving you a hard time about something. Your mom is kind of funny once you get to know her.” Raven looped her arm through Wick’s. “No say goodbye to everyone and get out of here. Enjoy your last day off.”

“I just wanted to thank everyone for the cards and the flowers as well as coming to visit me while I was off. You all are a great group of coworkers and friends. I’m a lucky guy to have you all in my life.” He cleared his throat. “Okay now that all the mushy stuff is over. Have a good day and stay safe out there. See you tomorrow.”

Everyone said goodbye to Wick and Raven walked him out towards the door.

“It will be nice to have him back finally.” Bellamy said as the crowd dispersed leaving Bellamy, Clarke and Octavia standing there.

“Yes, I just wish we could have caught the guy that created that explosion and caused those fires. That would have been nice for him to come back to knowing that the guy that almost killed him was behind bars.” Clarke said.

“We have all seen the reports, we know he is still out there. This guy that has been starting fires in Port Byron. Has the same signature as our arsonist.” Octavia said. “He just moved to a different location.”

“Yeah and they are not having any more luck in identifying him than our people did.” Bellamy shoved his hands in his pockets. “He’s like a damn ghost.”

Their fire department, fire marshal and local law enforcement had put every available resource together to try and catch this arsonist. He was really good. So good that the theory was that he had to be a former fire fighter or someone who had some type of ties to the community. He knew too much about how to start fires and leave very little evidence.

The paging system went off and announced a medical call at Mt. Weather Park. Clarke’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the location of the call. When the dispatcher gave the call details of a conscious teenage girl with possible hypothermic conditions Clarke breathed easier.

_It’s not Lexa or Gus._

Bellamy, Octavia and Clarke headed for the ambulance. The call location was on a main roadway in the park by one of the shelter houses. Clarke knew that there wasn’t any bodies of water in the area so the subject hadn’t been submerged as far as she knew but the temperatures had dropped down to the 20’s last night. She also knew that Lexa was more than likely on the scene and knew how to help the teenager till they got there.

It took them twelve minutes to get to the park and pull in beside Lexa’s trailblazer. Clarke could see Lexa speaking to someone sitting in the passenger seat then she got out of the vehicle and came up to the passenger side of the ambulance where Clarke was exiting.

“She says her name is Dana. She wouldn’t tell me her last name. Claims to be thirteen.” Lexa followed Clarke and the other paramedics around to the passenger side of her vehicle. “I was driving though this area and saw her coming out of a tent. We don’t have any campers scheduled to be in the park so I needed to check who was there.”

Bellamy opened up the door and looked in at the small, young blonde girl wrapped in a blanket. The trailblazer’s heater was turned up.

“Hey, my name is Bellamy what is yours?”

Untrusting green eyes looked at him and she shrunk back. “Dana.”

“Okay Dana, we are going to get you checked out and see how you are doing. Is that okay.”

Dana shook her head. “No, not you.” She looked like she was about to cry. “Don’t touch me.”

Bellamy held up his hands and leaned away. “Would it be okay if Octavia here checked to make sure you’re doing okay?”

Dana nodded vigorously as Bellamy moved out of the way and Octavia moving in to start taking the vitals of the young girl.

A sheriff’s deputy pulled up next to the ambulance. He got out and came over to them. His nametag said his last name was Bormann.

“What is the situation here?” Bormann asked.

Lexa repeated the girl’s name and age to the deputy. “I was driving through and saw the blue of her tent. I knew we didn’t have any campers scheduled so she was in the park illegally. When I started walking towards the tent she came out. She appeared unsteady and confused. She was cold to the touch and her teeth were chattering. I called EMS, wrapped her in a blanket, put her in the truck and turned the heat up.”

“What is her last name?” Bormann asked as he wrote in a little notebook.

“She wouldn’t give it to me.” Lexa was interested in getting the shivering kid warmed up more than finding out who she was and what she was doing there.

“The paramedics are taking care of her right now so I will see if I can get more information from her later. Let’s go look at this tent.” The deputy started walking towards the tent with Lexa following behind him.

“How long have you been out here sweetie?” Clarke asked Dana. She was writing down the vitals that Octavia was taking.

“Three days I think.” Dana shrugged. She didn’t know exactly what day it was.

“What is your last name Dana?” Clarke noted that the girl’s hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in a long time.

Dana’s lips quivered and she shook her head no.

“Can you tell me where you live?” Clarke asked gently. Continuing the visual assessment she noticed the girl had what appeared to be rope burns around her wrists.

“I can’t tell you.” Dana started crying.

“Why not honey?” Clarke gently asked.

The young girl started trembling. “He…he…told me if I told anyone…he would kill me.”

“Who is he?” Clarke was feeling sick. Someone was hurting this child.

“The man that I’ve been staying with…he told me my parents didn’t want me anymore…and he said… and he said I could go live with him.” Dana started crying harder. “He…he hurt me.”

“Okay Dana, we are going to take you to the hospital okay. So we can further check to see how you are doing. It will be nice and warm at the hospital and you will be safe there.”

Clarke bit her lip as she turned around and walked with Bellamy to the back of the ambulance to get the gurney.

“We need to get an IV in and start some fluids. If she has been out here three days she probably hasn’t ate anything or had anything to drink.” Bellamy said.

“Yes, she is more than likely dehydrated. They need to find out her last name and where she is from right away. Find the poor kid’s parents.” Clarke helped Bellamy take the gurney out of the ambulance and wheeled it over to the trailblazer.

They lowered the gurney close to the ground and carefully helped Dana get onto it. Bellamy gave Octavia the needle and tubing to start an IV. It was obvious that Dana didn’t want him anywhere near her. While Octavia did that Clarke walked up to Lexa and Deputy Bormann who were walking back towards them.

“How is she doing?” Lexa asked. Lexa was glad to see Clarke but not necessarily under these circumstances.

“Her blood pressure is a little low as well as her temperature. We are about ready to take her in.” Clarke took a deep breath. “She still didn’t give us a last name and it appears that she has what look like rope burns around her wrist and she has made some statements that suggest that she has been abducted.” Clarke told them what Dana had said.

“Poor kid.” Lexa’s lips were pressed tightly together as she thought about what the girl might have gone through. “There was nothing in the tent to help identify her. The only thing in there is a thin blanket.”

“I’ll have child protective services meet us at the hospital.” Deputy Bormann said. He turned around and walked back to collect the tent.

“I’m going to help the deputy and then head back to the station.” Lexa said. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Just you as always.” Clarke sighed. “I need to get going.” Clarke reached out and touched the back of Lexa’s hand. “I’ll text you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Clarke walked back to the ambulance. Dana had her IV in and was loaded into the back of the ambulance. She had blankets covering her to keep her warm. Clarke climbed into the back with Octavia.

As Bellamy drove Clarke helped Octavia attach heart monitor pads and leads to the little girl. There were several old bruises along the girl’s torso. Someone had been using the little girl for a punching bag and Clarke was sick to think of what else the little girl had been used for.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some fluffiness but more drama

“Gus, I’m going to be a little late today.”

Clarke was about ready to come home and Lexa wanted to be there for her when she walked into the door.

_That is one con to moving out here. Technically I would already be at work when Clarke came home when we lived at the ranger station._

“No, problem. I’ll put your breakfast in the refrigerator. Talk to you when you come in.”

“Thanks buddy.” Lexa said as she pressed the button to end the call.

She had spent about an hour and a half talking to Clarke last night when she had some free time. On the way to the hospital Dana had shared some more about her ordeal. Clarke didn’t give many details except to confirm that Dana had been abducted. That she had been kept tied up in a room at a farmhouse not too far from the park and the guy who abducted her used to drive around in an RV and would sell her to strange men for sex at different rest areas and truck stops. She was from out of State and had been missing for five months. Dana had stolen the tent and blanket from the man that had abducted her. He hadn’t tied the ropes as tight and she was able to leave while he was passed out drunk on the couch. She had also told Clarke her last name. When they got to the hospital they were met by a worker from child protective services. Upon hearing the story the child protective worker called for a social worker and together, while the girl was being treated for her injuries they tried to contact Dana’s parents.

It was one of the most horrible calls that Clarke had been on and she really felt for the girl and all the terror that she had gone through. Then instead of being able to process her feelings they had a really busy day going from one call to the next till nine o’clock that night when Clarke dragged her weary body into the women’s dorm room to get some rest. Instead of sleeping she called Lexa.

Lexa had a pot of chamomile tea brewing. Lexa met Clarke at the back door and as soon as Clarke dropped her gym bag Lexa hand enveloped her in a hug and held her close.

“You’re still here?” Clarke murmured against Lexa’s neck.

“Yes, I wanted to be here when you came home so I could do this.” Lexa’s arms tighten slightly around Clarke.

“God I love you.” Clarke sighed and relaxed against Lexa.

“I love you too sweetie.”

Lexa stood there holding Clarke for several minutes while stroking her hair.

“Were you able to get any sleep last night?” Lexa asked.

Clarke shook her head. “Couldn’t sleep and we had a call out to an accident at four in the morning.”

Lexa moved her hands till they were cupping Clarke’s face. She kissed her gently and then led Clarke over to one of the stools at the island counter.

“I made you some tea. It’s chamomile to help you relax.” Lexa filled Clarke’s mug with the tea and set it down in front of her on the counter.

“Thank you. You are so sweet.” Clarke picked up the mug and took a sip.

Lexa shrugged. “I knew you had a rough day.”

“Yeah, it happens though. Some days are really good, some not so bad.” Clarke sighed. “Still others you wish you hadn’t gotten out of bed that morning.”

Clarke normally wasn’t so gloomy. It had been a long day yesterday and she hadn’t slept well. She thought she was just tired. Being home and getting to see Lexa for a little bit helped brighten her mood.

“Those days do suck.” Lexa reached out and rubbed Clarke’s arm lightly. “Is there anything that I can get you? Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat.”

“No, I’m fine. Really.” Clarke lifted up her mug of tea. “This is perfect. I’m going to drink this and then go to bed.”

“I’ll tuck you in then.”

Clarke gave Lexa an appreciative smile. “I would love it if you tucked me in.

 

About ten minutes later Clarke was dressed in her pajamas. Lexa had pulled down the light blocking blinds and walked over to the bed just as Clarke was bringing her legs up onto the bed. Grabbing the blankets Lexa pulled them up over Clarke to her chest and tucked them in lightly around her. Sitting on the edge of the bed Lexa reached up to move some hair back from Clarke’s face.

“Sleep well love. If you get up before I come home and need anything give me a call.”

“I will babe. Thank you for the tea and for talking to me last night.”

“You’re welcome.” Lexa leaned over and first kissed Clarke’s forehead, then on the lips. “Sweet dreams. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Clarke’s eyes remained closed but her mouth was uplifted at the corners in a small smile. She was asleep before Lexa walked out the back door.    

 

Lexa was driving past one of the campsites when she saw an old model blue Chevrolet parked near the restrooms. Pulling into the camp ground Lexa pulled up just behind the vehicle. As she was writing down the plate number a large man, maybe in his 30’s or 40’s, with unkempt brown hair, a dirty brown t-shirt, red and black checkered shirt and jeans came out of the women’s rest room. He looked like he hadn’t shaved for days. When he saw Lexa sitting in the trailblazer just behind his truck he starting walking towards her.

Lexa didn’t have a good feeling about this so she pulled out her 9mm and kept it down by her thigh within easy reach and partially covered by her arm. She rolled down her window partway as the man stopped by her truck door.

“Hello sir, how are you?” Lexa tried not to gag as the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke that was coming off of this man. “You out enjoying the park today?” Lexa tried to appear friendly but there was just something off about this man and with the weather being as rainy and miserable as it had been Lexa couldn’t imagine anyone being out and enjoying the park.

“I’m looking for my daughter have you seen her?” The man’s voice was gravely and he smelled worse when he opened his mouth.

_Daughter?_ “Is your daughter missing sir?” _Is this the asshole that took Dana?_

“Yeah, she is about 5’ 2”, blonde hair, green eyes. I haven’t seen her for a couple of days. I’m really worried about her.” The man scratched the stubble on his cheek. His fingernails were really dirty.

“What is her name and what was she wearing the last time you’ve seen her?” Lexa asked.

“Have you seen a little girl here or not?” The man’s voice rose.

“No sir I haven’t.” Lexa lied. “But if you give me your name, the name of your daughter and the description of what she was wearing last I will look for her out here.”

The man looked at her suspiciously. His eyes were blue and bloodshot.

“Have you filed a missing person’s report with the police?” Lexa asked. She knew he hadn’t and wouldn’t. “Does she have a cell phone? You might be able to locate her that way?” Lexa was trying to give off the appearance of being helpful.

“Not yet. I’m trying to find her myself. She runs away a lot and I don’t want her to get into any further trouble and no she ain’t got no phone.”

“If you give me your name and a phone number I will give you a call if I find her. I’m sure after being away she is missing her father.” _Play it cool Lexa. I know you just want to shoot the bastard but you can’t do that._

“Naw, I’ll just keep looking for her myself. I’m sure you have other things you need to be doing.” He started walking slowly backward away from Lexa.

“Okay sir.” Lexa gave him a forced smile, relieved that he was done assaulting her nose with his stench. “If you need any help later just let me know.”

The man backed up all the way to his vehicle and got in. The truck’s engine rumbled to life and moved forward. Lexa waited till he was at the entrance to the camp site before she put her vehicle in gear and went to follow him. Picking up her cell phone she quickly called 911.

 

“So you about ready to get out of here?” Gus asked.

It was four-thirty and almost quitting time. Lexa was ready to go home and cuddle with her wife.

“Hell yes.”

After Lexa had called 911 and told the dispatcher who she was and why she was calling, and after she relayed the plate number and the current location of a potential suspect in the abduction of a thirteen year old girl, Lexa spent a good chunk of the rest of the afternoon being interviewed by a sheriff’s deputy. While she was answering questions about what she saw and what the man said the dispatcher had run this man’s plate number. It came back to a man named Tommy Beckman. There was a farm registered in his name about a mile from the park. The sheriff’s department sent out their swat team to observe the farm as well as send an undercover unit to drive through the park. Lexa had followed him to the park limits, at a distance so as not to spook him too much. Once he drove off park property Lexa turned around and gave the direction the blue truck was last seen going in.

Lexa had finished her statement and at the request of the sheriff’s department she stayed at the ranger station in case the man decided to make an appearance. So far the man hadn’t shown up and nothing much was coming over the scanner about what was going on. The last she had heard was that the blue truck was spotted at the farm and the sheriff’s department was working to get a search warrant for the farm.

“Any word on how the kid’s doing or if they found her parents or not?” Gus asked.

Lexa shook her head. “I haven’t heard anything. I hope they find them. I hope they are okay parents and that what he told her didn’t have any truth to it.” _How awful would it be for that kid to be told that your parents didn’t want you, be abducted and abused, sold into sexual slavery, finally escape only to find out that it was true that your parents didn’t want you?_

“That poor kid has been through enough.” Gus crossed his arms over his big chest. “I don’t know how you stayed so calm out there. I would have wanted to bash his skull in or at least kick him in the nuts.”

“It was very hard and to be honest I kept thinking to myself. Just give me an excuse. Just come at me so I would be forced to defend myself. But he didn’t and I didn’t have to defend myself so hopeful the Sheriff’s department gets his ass.”

They heard the crunch of gravel out in front of the ranger station. Lexa got up and looked out the window. Anya was getting out of her car and Deputy Bormann was getting out of his squad car. Lexa walked back to her desk and sat on the edge waiting for them to come through the door.

Deputy Bormann held the door open for Anya to walking into the ranger station ahead of him.

“Thank you deputy.” Anya smiled at the man and then walked over to the coat rack to hang up her coat.

“Ma’am” The deputy tipped his hat. He walked over to where Lexa and Gus were sitting. “I just wanted to stop by and let you know we have served Mr. Beckman with a warrant and he is in custody. He was responsible for the abduction of Dana Swift and based on what we found at the farm there were others girls he kidnapped.”

“Jesus, how many?” Lexa asked.

“He has pictures of five other girls. Their locations are unknown at this time. The case is going to be turned over to the FBI since it crossed state lines. I just wanted to come and let you know we got him and to thank you for alerting us.” Deputy Bormann held out his hand first to Lexa and then to Gus as he shook their hands. He tipped his hat at Anya before leaving.

“Wow, I just can’t wrap my head around this.” Gus said.

“I guess I missed some excitement today?” Anya asked.

“Yeah, you did.” Lexa explained all that occurred that day to Anya. When she was done it was time to head home. “If you need anything Anya let me know. If the media calls or stops by tell them we have no comment.” Something like this was sure to make the news and Lexa didn’t want to talk to the media.

 

Clarke had just put the casserole in the oven when she hurt the key unlock their back door. She wiped her hands on a towel and turned to watch as Lexa walked into the kitchen.

“Hey sexy.” Clarke smiled at her wife. She was always glad to see her when she came home from work. “How was your day?”

“Give me a hug first.” Lexa met Clarke halfway and pulled her into a hug. She needed to feel that connection with the most important person in her life. Clarke kept her grounded and on days like today she needed that.

“Are you okay?” Clarke asked when she heard Lexa sigh.

Lexa pulled back from the hug. “I’ve got some good news. The man that kidnapped Dana has been arrested.” Lexa told Clarke what had happened that day.

Clarke felt like crying. _Five other girls? He did this to five other girls?_

“How are you doing honey?” Lexa asked as she took Clarke’s hand.

“I want to go down to that jail and shoot off that bastard’s testicles.” Clarke replied honestly. She held up her hand palms up and closed her eyes as she tried to figure out what to say next. “I’m not usually a pro-violence person.” She opened her eyes. “But in this case I think I will make an exception.”

“I’m right there with you honey. I understand how you feel.” Lexa wanted to hurt the man too even though it still wouldn’t change what happened to Dana and those girls.

“I just can imagine what those girls went through, what the parents…their mothers are going through with not knowing what happened to their babies.”

“I know hon.” Lexa didn’t know what else to say right now so she did the only thing that she could do and that was to wrap her arms around her wife and hold her. Things like this, they were things that they would have to start worrying about. They would try to keep any children they had safe and protected but they couldn’t be with them 24/7. _No matter how old they get you will always be worried about them._

“I’m okay. Thanks hon.” Clarke kissed Lexa’s nose. The casserole still had twenty-five minutes to go so Clarke led Lexa into the living room.

“So why don’t you tell me about your day?” Lexa asked as she put Clarke’s feet up in her lap and began to massage them.

Lexa knew that they would probably talk about this again but for right now all she planned on doing was to pamper her wife and let her know she was loved.


	5. Chapter 5

 

“Clarke are you okay in there?” Lexa asked as she stood outside the bathroom door.

This morning Clarke was to do the home pregnancy test to determine if the procedure was successful. While Lexa was getting dressed for work Clarke decided to go ahead and do the test. Lexa knew that it should have only taken a few minutes. Clarke, however, had been in the bathroom for ten minutes. Lexa wanted to be in there with Clarke but she wanted to give Clarke her privacy. After ten minutes she was starting to get worried. She was just about to knock on the door again when the door opened and Clarke stood there with a stunned look on her face.

“What is it?” Lexa put her hand on Clarke’s shoulder. Green eyes searched blue as Lexa waited for Clarke to tell her what was going on.

Clarke still held the pregnancy test in her hand. She couldn’t believe the results and had sat in the bathroom for several minutes looking at the little screen. Slowly and with a shaky hand Clarke lifted up the pregnancy test for Lexa to see. She smiled as her love. “I’m pregnant.”

Lexa’s eyes widened as she looked at the little plus sign on the stick. “Really? Yes!” Lexa picked Clarke up in her arms and danced around in a circle. “Yes, Yes, Yes.”

“Oh my god, put me down before you hurt yourself.” Clarke laughed as she was twirled around. She was shocked, but ecstatic, and to see Lexa’s so excited made her even happier.

Lexa put Clarke down onto her feet but pulled her into a firm hug then she cupped the sides of Clarke’s face and pressed her lips to Clarke’s for a long, lingering kiss.

Clarke stroked Lexa’s cheek when the kiss ended. “Sorry I didn’t come out earlier. I was sitting in the bathroom staring at the test. I couldn’t believe it. I really didn’t expect it to work the first time. I actually thought it was going to take several tries.”

Lexa’s eyes had been closed as she enjoyed Clarke’s touch. The corners of her mouth were upturned in a little smile. “I know what you mean.” Lexa opened her eyes and looked at Clarke. “I was hopeful for the first time but I had prepared myself for it to possibly take more than one insemination.” Lexa took both of Clarke’s hand in hers. “So now we need to call Dr. Jennings office and confirm it.”

Clarke looked at the clock. “I’ll do that right now. Someone should be in the office.”

Lexa followed Clarke into the kitchen where she had kept her cell phone. As Clarke made her phone call Lexa stood behind Clarke with her arms around her. Her chin rested on Clarke’s shoulder as she made small circles on Clarke’s abdomen with her hands. Clarke still wore her nice fuzzy pajamas that Lexa liked to touch.

“Alright, three sounds good. Thanks.” Clarke hung up the phone and turned around in Lexa’s arms. “They had an opening today. I have an appointment at three o’clock.”

Lexa leaned her forehead against Clarke’s. “I’ll see if Anya can come in early so I can drive you.” Lexa’s hands were underneath her pajama top, rubbing Clarke’s lower back. She loved touching her, being this close to her. “After the appointment how about we go out to dinner?”

“That sounds wonderful.” Clarke patted Lexa’s chest above her heart. “Now love you better head on into work.”

Lexa briefly stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “Okay beautiful. Take it easy today.” Lexa’s goodbye kiss was slow and gentle. She didn’t want to go into work and would have much rather stayed home with Clarke today but she needed to be responsible. “I love you.”

Clarke thought it was cute when Lexa pouted. “I love you too honey. Drive safe.”

 

Clarke watched her wife leave for work and then went and sat down on the couch. She pulled down the quilt that was on the back of the couch and covered up her legs. It was her day off.

Max got up from his bed and walked over and sat at the foot of the couch, resting his head on Clarke’s knee. His one blue eye and one brown eye gazed back at her, then looked to the spot next to her on the couch and then back to Clarke. Silently begging for permission.

Clarke patted the spot next to her. “Come on boy.” Max jumped up on the couch and rested his head on Clarke’s legs. He groaned as Clarke scratched his head. “You like that don’t you baby boy?” She smiled. “You know, we may be having a new addition to our little family here. A little boy or a little girl. Not for a while though.” Clarke stroked the dog’s back. She was excited but tried not to be too excited. The home pregnancy test could be wrong. After all it wasn’t one hundred percent accurate. _I will be more excited if the blood test comes back that I’m pregnant, then I have some decisions to make._ Even without the high stress and risk job that Clarke had, miscarriages during the first trimester happened frequently. She wanted to give this baby every chance she could, even though right now the “baby” didn’t look much like a baby but rather a bunch of cells that were dividing quickly but getting bigger every day.

“In nine months we will have someone new to love. When he or she gets older they can throw you a ball or stick and you can help protect them.” Clarke was happy but there was also some apprehension. There were many things she couldn’t control, and one was what was going to happen with this pregnancy. Things that could happen that would terminated pregnancies through no fault of the mother. Clarke knew that and she had seen that happen as a paramedic. She knew she could do everything right and she could still lose the baby. That thought frightened her and sometimes kept her up at night after they had really started planning to have children. She was excited for herself and Lexa but really she had some reserved optimism till she was further along in the pregnancy.

Clarke continued to pet Max. “We shall see what happens next now, won’t we buddy?” She really wanted this baby.

 

Clarke and Lexa sat in chairs next to each other in Dr. Jennings’ office. Lexa held Clarke’s hand in her lap as they waited for doctor to come in with the results.

Lexa noticed Clarke nervously rubbing her thumb against her wedding band. Moving it slightly around her finger. She gently squeezed the hand in her lap to get Clarke’s attention. “Remember I love you. No matter what she says.”

Clarke could see the gentleness and love that shown on Lexa’s face. She sighed and tried to relax as Lexa kissed her hand. “I love you too babe.” She took comfort in the woman that sat next to her who appeared to be calm and ready for anything. The woman that she loved with everything she had.

Lexa had a hard time earlier not saying anything to Gus or Anya about why she wanted to get off of work early. They had talked before about waiting till they were one hundred percent sure that Clarke was pregnant before letting anyone else know. She was anxious to get the conformation or be told that they would need to do the procedure over again. No matter what they were told in the next few minutes Lexa was ready to do what must be done. She was nervous too. Just as nervous as Clarke looked but she knew she had to be strong for her wife.

The both jumped as the office door opened and Dr. Jennings strolled in and casually sat down in her office chair. “Well my dears...” Dr. Jennings face lit up with a smile. “You are pregnant. Congratulations!”

Clarke released the breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding since the doctor first appeared. Looking over to Lexa she leaned over and kissed her wife. “I love you.” She whispered, her voice cracking.

“And I love you my wife.” Lexa brought up Clarke’s hand for a quick kiss on the palm. She reached over and began rubbing Clarke’s upper back.

“So I would like to get some appointments made with you Clarke. In two weeks I want you back in here so I can start seeing you once every month. That is typical for the fourth through the twenty-eighth week. Then twice a month till the thirty-sixth week and then weekly after that till you give birth.”

Clarke nodded. She knew that was the normal schedule unless there were complications. “Yes, of course. I’ll get those set up with your receptionist on the way out.”

“Okay.” Dr. Jennings looked at them expectantly. “Any questions for me?”

Clarke shook her head and looked at Lexa who also was shaking her head. “Not right now thanks.”

“I will tell you based on the start date of your last period your baby’s estimated due date is December fourteenth. As I said though that is only an estimate.”

_A nice Christmas present for us._ “Okay, thanks doc.” Lexa said. “Ready to go honey?”

“Yes.” Clarke stood and took Lexa’s hand. “Thanks Dr. Jennings.”

“No problem. Congratulations again and I will see you in a couple of weeks.”

 

After their early dinner Clarke and Lexa went strolling down along the river front. The early spring air was still chilly, especially walking along the water where it felt much cooler as the wind hit the water. Walking along the bike path, arms wrapped around each other, Clarke and Lexa didn’t feel the chill or the dampness. Both were happy about the news they got that day and they enjoyed being together that evening.

“How about we swing by your parents and tell them they are going to be grandparents?” Lexa knew Abby and Jake were anxious to be grandparents.

Clarke had been looking at the trees and out at the water as they walked. The trees were just starting to bud and everywhere around them nature was starting to come alive with renewed growth. “Can we wait a couple of days?

“Sure, can I ask why you want to wait?”

“I just want you and I, and well Dr. Jennings, to know right now. I want us to enjoy a few days of peace and quiet because you know my family hon. Once the news gets out who knows when we will have peace and quiet again.”

Lexa pulled Clarke closer and kissed her temple. “Whatever you want. I love our family but I can see how it could end up being a little overwhelming.”

“I love them too, and I know they will be excited and everything and the nosiness and bossiness will come from a place of caring, but I just need a few days to get use to the idea of actually being pregnant myself.” Clarke shivered.

Lexa would have held Clarke closer if she could and shared more body heat, but they were already walking together side by side as close as they could. “How about we head home then? We can cuddle on the couch and watch TV.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea.”

 

“Honey, where did you put the pregnancy test?” Lexa asked as she came out of the bathroom.

“I put it in our memory box.” Clarke replied. She was sitting on the couch with the quilt over legs. She held the remote as she waited for her wife to come sit next to her.

“Oh good, I was going to make sure it got in there.” Lexa headed towards their bedroom.

“What are you doing babe?” Clarke raised her voice so Lexa could hear her.

“Be right out.” Lexa replied as she got in the closet to get out a gift bag she had hidden in there.

Clarke scrolled through the list of TV shows and movies that they could watch as she waited for Lexa’s return. She looked up and saw the mischievous smile on Lexa’s face as she came through the door. She saw the bag that Lexa was carrying. “What have you got there?”

Lexa lifted the corner of the quilt and slid underneath next to Clarke. “A little present for you.” Lexa placed the gift bag on Clarke’s lap.

“For me?” Clarke smiled at Lexa as she reached into the bag. The first thing she pulled out was a deluxe pencil set.

Lexa nodded towards the pencils. “I figured you probably already had enough of those but more wouldn’t hurt.”

“This is great. I’m always out buying new ones. Thank you.”

“There is more.” Lexa smiled as Clarke reached back into the bag.

Next Clarke pulled out the book _What to Expect When You’re Expecting_. Clarke had mentioned she wanted to buy the book but hadn’t done so yet. “You remembered.”

“Yes.” Lexa said softly. “I figured we could read it together.”

“I would like that very much.” Clarke squeezed Lexa’s forearm before reaching back into the bag. She knew that there were a few more things inside and she pulled them out. One was a bottle of her favorite foot scrub and the other was a journal with new pens.

“The foot scrub is self-explanatory.” Lexa shrugged. “I know you like to take care of your feet and as the pregnancy progresses and if you need help I will scrub your feet for you. The journal is for you to write all your hopes, dreams and fears. Either with the pregnancy or anything you want to write in it.”

Clarke was smiling as she put everything back into the bag and set it aside. She lifted the quilt off of her and moved to straddle Lexa’s thighs.

“You…are…the…sweetest…woman…I…know…and…I…love…you…very…much.” Each word was followed by a kiss.

Clarke drew Lexa into a hug and they held on tightly to each other after the kisses. Lexa’s ear was pressed against Clarke’s chest. She could hear her heart beat and she couldn’t wait till she got to hear their baby’s heart beat for the first time. She took several deep breaths to keep her emotions under control. She felt like crying and she blinked the tears away as she tightened her grip around Clarke’s waist.

“Hey.” Clarke leaned back and then cupped Lexa’s face in her hands. “You okay?” She asked softly.

Lexa swallowed and nodded slightly. “Yes, just felt a little overwhelmed there for a minute.” She felt her eyes well up with tears. “Sorry.”

“I know the feeling and there is nothing to be sorry about.” Clarke wiped away a single tear that streaked down Lexa’s face. “Thank you for my presents.”

“You’re welcome.” Lexa looked into Clarke’s eyes and noticed they were shiny with unshed tears. “Please don’t cry babe.”

“I can’t help it.” Clarke laughed. “When I see you cry I want to cry too.”

Lexa reached up and grasped the back of Clarke’s head and pulled her down till their lips met. She felt the wetness on Clarke’s cheek. Lexa wiped the tears away and then kissed each of Clarke’s eyelids, then her forehead before moving Clarke down across the cushions of the couch where she spooned her from behind.

Clarke reached down to the floor where the remote had fallen. She was using part of Lexa’s arm for a pillow. Lexa’s other arm was around her waist. Her hand underneath the shirt Clarke wore as Lexa’s fingertips lightly moved back and forth along her ribcage and stomach.

“This okay?” Lexa asked before kissing the back of Clarke’s neck.

“Oh yeah. It’s perfect.” Clarke smiled at the thought of them lying on the couch like this, and how several months down the road when her belly got bigger they might not fit so well. _We will figure it out though._


	6. Chapter 6

 

Clarke knocked on the door to Chief Marcus Kane’s door. She proceeded inside when she heard him tell her to come in. “Hello Chief.” Clarke said, shutting the door behind her.

“Clarke, how are you?” Marcus gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“I’m doing well Chief. How are you?” Clarke sat down and regarded the pile of paperwork sitting on the Chief’s desk. Ah the joys of being in charge.

“I’m good.” Marcus smiled. “So I’m assuming you’re sitting in my office because of the conversation we had about a month ago, correct?”

“That is correct. I am pregnant.” Clarke couldn’t help the smile that came over her face every time she said those words.

“First thing, congratulations. I am happy for you and Lexa.”

Clarke nodded. “Thank you sir. We are quite happy ourselves.”

Marcus shuffled through some papers on his desk. “As I said I would I looked into what our policy states with regards to pregnant employees.” Marcus leaned forward on the desk. “You can choose to continue your current duties up until the time you think you need to stop, or when its time for you to give birth to your baby. However, I will need you and your doctor to sign a form stating you both are aware of the dangers and risks to the health and safety of you and your baby. Your doctor needs to be aware of all of the hazards that come with this job.”

“She knows. We have talked extensively about it.”

“I have no doubt you have. So the position of the department is that it is your choice however, the department’s position, as well as mine is also concerned about the health of you and your baby based on the physical demands of the job, as well as the potential for exposure of harmful chemicals to the development of your child. Therefore in accordance with State and Federal law you can be temporarily assigned to other duties.”

“Yes, I’m aware that is the alternative.” Clarke had done her own investigating.

“You may have already made your decision but I want you to consider something first. As chairperson of the regional EMS coalition I have the task of updating the training protocols for the region. It involves going to meetings with the other departments involved in our mutual aid contracts, review their current training requirements and make sure they are up to date. Also figuring out what barriers there are, if any, to EMS personnel receiving the proper training. It also includes coordinate getting them the proper training and involves updating the current curriculum.” Marcus shrugged. “Honestly you will be sitting at a desk most of the time but I would like to assign that to you.”

“For how long?” Clarke asked.

“Meetings alone with the other departments could take several months. Then there is the review of current training and then creating and implementing new policies and organizing that training. I need someone I can trust to do it and I trust you. It also looks good to the higher ups when its time to do promotions. They like to see staff take initiative.” Marcus clasped his hands in front of him on the desk. “It would take you out of the field, which I know is important to you. However, this would be nine to five, Monday through Friday job assignment and it would insure that there would be minimal, if at all, job related risks that could harm you or your baby.”

“You said you trusted me to do it. Would you have considered me for it if I wasn’t pregnant now?”

“I probably would have just tried doing it myself.” Marcus pointed to the paperwork on his desk. “As you can see I have enough on my plate with responding to calls and the responsibilities of being fire chief. I have the power to assign this position and when you first approached me and told me that you and Lexa wanted to start a family I thought of you for it. You would be able to focus on the job and put towards it the time that it deserves. As far as I’m concerned it’s perfect timing.” He could see that Clarke was thinking about it. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I can get you the forms for you and your doctor to sign.”

It would be hard not to respond to calls and do the job she was trained to do, as well as be there to back up her coworkers. However, this was an opportunity to do something new. Something that may be beneficial down the road, especially if she wanted to advance in the department. She could network with other departments which could be very valuable down the road.

This would also address the concerns she had on how her job would affect the growing baby inside her. There was still a chance that she could lose the pregnancy because sometimes it just happened, but if she did it wouldn’t be because she exposed herself to the risks of the job. _This would also make Lexa happy._ Her wife would be supportive of whatever decision she made but she shared her concerns with the job. _Plus I would get to be home every night with Lexa_. That was a very attractive plus. “When would I start?”

Marcus smiled. “If you’re willing to do it I need you on it right now.”

 

“Is this really what you want to do sweetie?” Lexa asked after Clarke told her about the job assignment. They were on their way over to Clarke’s parent’s house for dinner.

“I will miss being on the trucks. Not feeling that rush of excitement while going out on a call, and being there for my coworkers, but for us, it is the right decision.” Clarke picked up Lexa’s hand and brought it over and placed it down on her thigh and covered it with her hand. “I am looking forward to getting to spend all my evenings and nights with you. Plus I get to make sure we are all receiving the proper training so we all are safer out there on the job.”

“It kind of bothers me that there might be a possibility that you’re not getting the proper training.” Lexa squeezed Clarke’s thigh. “I think that would be a very important thing to have.”

“It is.” Clarke agreed. “I don’t think our department is a concern but a few of the smaller ones, as well as the volunteer departments. Sometimes they don’t have the staff, funding or have the proper equipment. Marcus said I could also be helping to look for grants that they could apply for.”

“I would feel better knowing that you had properly trained back up out there when shit goes down.”

“Me too which is why I’m glad I get to do this, and with Wick back I don’t feel as bad not going out on calls anymore.”

“I know I said it was your decision, and it is.” Lexa glanced at Clarke and gave her an apologetic smile. “I would support you no matter what. I am glad though that you took the job.”

“I know honey and I appreciate it. I love my job, but I love you more. This is our baby and I want to give it every chance that I can. Fortunately for us this opportunity happened when it did and made my decision easier.”

“So how did your coworkers react?” Lexa was curious about their level of support.

“Everyone thinks it’s great that we are starting a family. Wick was surprised that it wasn’t you who was going to be the pregnant one and Bellamy joked that he thought that that I would stay working even through labor. Then deliver the baby myself and continue on working.” Clarke laughed. “Monte made a comment about my boobs getting bigger, then that prompted a discussion with the guys wondering just how much bigger they would get. Then Raven and Octavia started to give the boys a hard time and Raven threatened to cut Wick off if she found him looking at them.”

“They can go ahead and just keep their minds and eyes off your boobs.” Lexa muttered. “How did they react about you not going out on the trucks for a while?” She asked in her normal tone of voice.

Clarke had heard what Lexa had said and squeezed her wife’s hand. “They are supportive and want was is best. This way they won’t have to worry about me either and if I’m doing something that…well, I probably shouldn’t. Also they were just teasing honey.” Clarke leaned as close as she could to Lexa that the seatbelt would allow. “Trust me if it was serious I would have said something.”

“I do trust you Clarke. I just don’t want them ogling my wife or making comments about your body.”

“You’re the only one I want checking me out, okay?” Lexa’s hair was down and Clarke reached out and move it back over her shoulder so she could see her face better. “I love it when you get possessive.”

Lexa glanced at Clarke. “I’m not possessive.” She tried to keep her face blank but then it cracked into a small smile. “Well maybe a little bit.”

“Just enough sweetheart.” Clarke kissed her wife’s hand.

Lexa pulling into her in-laws driveway. They were there to officially tell Abby and Jake that Clarke was pregnant. Lexa was actually surprised that Abby hadn’t been on the phone to call Clarke the day that they did the home pregnancy test. Abby knew the day that they were going to check, and yet she hadn’t called. A few days had passed and she still hadn’t called to inquire. Clarke had been the one to call her mom and ask what they were doing for dinner and if they were up for a visit.

Clarke knocked once on the door and went in. Taking off their shoes they walked into the kitchen. Her parents were making a salad. “Hi mom, dad.” Clarke hugged both of her parents. “How are you?”

“We are both doing fine.” Abby moved to hug Lexa when she was done hugging Clarke.

“We are great. How are you two doing?” Jake asked, he took his turn at hugging his daughter and daughter in law.

“We are great.” Clarke took Lexa’s hand. “How soon before dinner is done?”

“The roast has another twenty minutes to go. Why are you really hungry? We can start with the salad.” Abby picked up the salad bowl and placed it on the table.

“Yes, starting with the salad would be great.” Clarke smiled excitedly as she was about to break the news to her mother. “I’m actually now eating for two so the sooner we can start the better.”

“Eating for two…”Abby’s eyes widened then she hugged Clarke again. “My baby is going to have a baby!” There were tears in Abby’s eyes.

“That is wonderful news, Clarke.” Jake squeezed Lexa’s shoulder. “Lexa, I’m happy for the both of you…and for us. We get to be grandparents.”

“Have you called and told your grandmothers yet?” Abby asked.

“No, not yet.” Clarke admitted.

“You better get on that.” Abby’s eyebrows rose. She looked very serious “I would suggest right now.” She would never hear the end of it if she knew and Betty didn’t.

“I will. I just wanted you and dad to know first.” Clarke took out her cell phone and sat down at the table.

“Can I help with anything?” Lexa asked.

“Please put the plates and silverware on the table. Jake, get the girls something to drink” Abby checked the timer on the stove.

“What will you two have?” Jake opened up the refrigerator.

“Water will be fine for the both of us.” Lexa caught Clarke’s eye and she nodded.

“Hi grandma. How are you and Alice?” Clarke could hear beeping noises in the background. If she had to guess her grandma was at the casino.

“We are both doing well. How are you young lady?” Betty looked over at her wife Alice and pointed to the phone at her ear. “It’s Clarke.”

“What?” Alice asked. It was hard to hear because of the noise from the slot machines.

“It’s Clarke!” Betty raised her voice.

“Oh, tell her I said hi.” Alice said before returning to her machine. Normally she would try to listen in on the conversation but with all the bell, beeps and sounds of coins dropping she really couldn’t hear much.

“Alice says hi and I’m sorry how did you say you were doing?” Betty put a finger in her other ear to see if she could muffle the noise.

“I’m great grandma. So is Lexa. I won’t keep you but I just wanted to tell you I’m pregnant.”

“What did you just say?” Betty was sure she heard her correctly but she wanted to make sure.

“I’m pregnant.” Clarke repeated.

“That is amazing Clarke. Better than winning the jackpot. Hold on a second.” Betty held the phone down and looked over at Alice. “We are going to be great grandparents.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t hear you.” Alice was shaking her head and looked confused. She thought Betty had said that Clarke was a giant.

“I said, Clarke is pregnant.” Betty spoke more loudly.

Clarke could hear her grandmother’s raised voice as she tried to tell Alice the news. Clarke started to chuckle.

“What’s happening?” Lexa asked.

“Grandma is at the casino and she is trying to tell Alice that I’m pregnant. Oh my god grandma.” Clarke shook her head and grinned. “She just yelled to Alice that I was knocked up.”

“I’m sure she didn’t need to phrase it like that?” Abby said, while pulling out the roasting pan from the oven.

“She tried to tell her I was pregnant but it’s so loud there.” Clarke explained. “Grandma…Grandma!”

Betty could hear Clarke and brought the phone back up to her ear. “I’m sorry Clarke. It’s really noisy here. We are at the Palace Casino. Can I call you later after we go up to our room?”

“Of course grandma. Have fun and I will talk to you later.”

“Thank you darling, and congratulations. You and Lexa are going to be great parents.”

“Thanks grandma. Bye.” Clarke ended the phone call. “Grandmothers are informed.”

“Thank you for calling. You know how upset she would be if you hadn’t let her know right away.” Abby sat down at the table and began putting roast, carrots and potatoes on her plate. Then she passed it to Lexa. “She is excited about being a great grandmother. We all are excited about it. So have you made any decisions yet? Are you going to continue to work?”

Clarke told her parents about her alternate job assignment and what her responsibilities would be, the job hours and of course she wasn’t going to be going out on the trucks.

“I’m glad you won’t be going out to fires Clarke. I about had a heart attack when you were in that explosion about a year ago. I don’t know how common that type of thing happens, but with you being pregnant I’m glad you’re not going to the calls. The ambulance might not have been so bad but even then you can get into some sticky situations.”

“That is true and I know that I can’t protect myself and the baby from every little thing.” Clarke looked at Lexa. “We can’t protect our baby from everything, but we will do what we can.”

“So have you started to have morning sickness yet?” Abby laughed to herself. _You will get to find out what I had to go through with you._

“No, I haven’t. Which is another reason I’m glad I’m not going out on a truck. It’s not like I can excuse myself and run to the bathroom every time I feel like I have to throw up.”

Abby laughed. “No, I don’t imagine you could and I’m sure you know this but just because it’s called morning sickness doesn’t mean that you will only get it in the morning.”

“Oh, we are aware of that.” Clarke took a bite of her potatoes. Dr. Jennings had gone over with them what they could expect.

“Your mother was in the bathroom quite a lot with you that first trimester.” Jake said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone vomit as much as she did.”

Abby shook her head. “Dear, not while we are eating.”

“Maybe I will be one of those women who doesn’t get morning sickness.” Clarke was optimistic, but time would tell.

“I had to go through morning sickness with you and I want you to go through it too. Call it revenge or what every parent wishes on their child. To have a child that will make you go through the exact same shit that caused your parents to have grey hair.”

“Oh gee, thanks mom.” Clarke picked up her glass of water and looked at her mother with raised eyebrows. “I also never gave you grey hair.”

“It’s called L’Oréal honey.” Abby laughed. “You will see and I can’t wait.”


	7. Chapter 7

Lexa sat up in bed when the alarm went off. Looking to the other side of the bed where Clarke normally would be lying next to her she found the space empty. Lexa frowned, wondering where Clarke was. Getting to her feet Lexa walked over to the dresser and turned the alarm off. She walked out of the bedroom in search of her wife.

The bathroom door was partially shut and the light was on. Sticking her head around the door she found Clarke sitting on the floor by the toilet. “Clarke!” The door banged against the wall as Lexa rushed into the bathroom.

“Lexa.” Clarke smiled weakly.

“What is going on? Are you okay?” Lexa’s worried gaze looked all along Clarke’s body to check for injuries. She sat down on the floor next to Clarke.

“Don’t worry, I’m okay honey. Just tired as usual.” Clarke squeezed Lexa’s thigh. “It took eight weeks but I think I have the inaccurately titled morning sickness.”

Lexa reached over and gently rubbed Clarke’s arm up and down. “Have you been throwing up?”

“More like dry heaving so far. My head is pounding and I don’t really want to move.” Clarke groaned. “But I know I have to get up. We both need to go to work.”

“Maybe you could take the day off? Get some more rest today? I can help you get back to bed.” Lexa offered helpfully. She had hoped that since Clarke hadn’t felt sick so far that maybe she would be one of the women who didn’t experience morning sickness. _My poor baby wasn’t so lucky._

Clarke moved suddenly till her face was hanging over the toilet. With her stomach empty all she did was gag and her body shook violently as her stomach rebelled against her. She rested her head on her arm that was stretched across the front of the toilet seat as she tried to catch her breath.

Lexa gathered up Clarke’s hair and pulled it away from the toilet and rubbed her back. “Let me help you back to bed honey.”

“I can’t go back to bed today.” Clarke turned her head downward and spit into the toilet. “I have a meeting at the Fairfield Fire Department.”

“Is there any way that it can be rescheduled?” Lexa continued to rub small circles on Clarke’s back.

Clarke was enjoying Lexa’s touch but she needed to get up off the floor. “No honey, I can’t.” Clarke pushed herself up into a sitting position. “I have meetings scheduled all week.” Clarke closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. “I’ll be okay. Other pregnant women have gone through this and dealt with it and I can too.”

“Yes, you can and I will do whatever I can to help you through this.” Lexa stood up. “What I need to do now is get you up off the floor.”

Clarke nodded and moved so she was on one knee with her other foot on the floor. She reached up to Lexa and grabbed her forearms. With Lexa pulling and Clarke pushing down on one foot she was brought to her feet. She held onto to Lexa’s arms as she regained her balance.

Lexa’s hands were on Clarke’s waist helping to keep her steady. “All good now?” She wasn’t going to let go till Clarke was stable.

“Yeah, thanks babe.” Clarke hugged Lexa briefly before going to the sink and taking a small mouthful of mouthwash. She hadn’t thrown up but she was worried about morning breath.

“How about we shower together this morning? I’ll wash your hair.” Lexa offered. She really liked washing Clarke’s hair and she knew Clarke loved it too.

It didn’t save them time showering together but it was a great way to get super clean and create intimacy, though for Lexa it wasn’t so much to do with intimacy this time, but making sure Clarke was going to be okay while showering.

“I do love it when you wash my hair.” Clarke got out two washrags from a drawer in the vanity, then took her tank top off over her head and then pulled her underwear down and off while Lexa started the water in the shower. As Lexa stepped out of the shower Clarke reached for the hem of Lexa’s shirt and pulled it over her wife’s head. She then pressed herself breast to breast with Lexa as she hugged her. _I thought my breasts were getting tender. Being up against Lexa I know for sure they are._

“Are you doing okay?” Lexa asked while played with a few strands of Clarke’s long blonde hair

“Yes, I just like being close to you.” Clarke stroked Lexa’s cheek with her thumb and looked into curious green eyes. “I want to touch you all the time.”

“You know you can touch me anytime you want and I like being close to you too.” Lexa kissed Clarke’s forehead and then stepped back so she could take off her underwear. Opening the shower door she checked the temperature before taking Clarke by the hand and placing her under the spray.

Once Clarke’s head was sufficiently wet Lexa began washing her hair with a combination of shampoo and conditioner. She liked the feeling of rubbing her fingertips into Clarke’s scalp and she loved it when Clarke would do it for her as well. Clarke’s eyes were closed and her mouth was partially open. Lexa quickly kissed Clarke as she continued to massage her scalp. Clarke’s fingers were caressing her sides and the gentle touch was driving Lexa nuts. “Let’s get this rinsed off.”

Clarke stepped backwards underneath the falling water once again as the shampoo was washed out of her hair. With her eyes still closed as she tried to make sure all the shampoo was gone she felt a soapy washrag being applied to her neck. “Oh, not only do I get my hair washed you’re going to wash the rest of me too?”

“Yes, do you mind?” Lexa asked while pausing to wait for Clarke’s answer. She was trying to be helpful while also getting to touch Clarke.

Clarke wiped the water out of her eyes and looked at Lexa. She still stared in amazement at her wife’s naked body. _I still can’t believe I get to kiss those lips, make love to that body and spend the rest of my life with such an amazing woman._ They hadn’t made love since before she became pregnant. Clarke wanted to, but by the time she got home at night she was too tired. “No, I don’t mind. Please continue.”

Lexa continued to move the washrag all along Clarke’s body. The spray from the shower made the soap trail down Clarke’s body. _She is so sexy_. After washing Clarke’s breasts she moved on to Clarke’s abdomen. Lexa really didn’t think Clarke had gained much weight over the last eight weeks. There may have been a slight thickening of her abdomen but nothing too obvious. As Lexa scrubbed all the way down Clarke’s body she got down on her knees to get Clarke’s legs. While she was down there she kissed Clarke’s stomach. “Hello in there.” She heard Clarke laugh and could feel her fingers move through her hair.

Getting back to her feet Lexa began kissed along Clarke’s jaw. She then pressed a soapy hand to one of Clarke’s breasts and gently squeezed before stroking the nipple with her thumb. _It feels so good to touch her._

“Oh god, Lexa” Clarke groaned as she grabbed ahold of Lexa arms. “They are even more sensitive than usual sweetie.”

“Too sensitive?” Lexa asked. She had an overwhelming feeling of wanting to touch Clarke but she didn’t want to hurt her.

“No, just a little sore.” Clarke pulled Lexa towards her and their bodies pressed together from top to bottom. Clarke rested her head on Lexa’s shoulder. She loved being this close, and being in the shower and all soapy, was usually fun, but Clarke’s stomach wouldn’t settle down. She tried to take slow deep breaths.

“I’m sorry if that was too much.” Lexa whispered near Clarke’s ear.

“Not at all. I love it when you touch me.” Clarke said as she leaned back to look Lexa in the face. Cupping Lexa’s face with her hands she slowly kissed Lexa’s lips. When the kiss ended Clarke leaned her forehead against Lexa’s. “I want you so much, I hope you know that.” Clarke laughed thinking about what exactly she wanted to do with Lexa. “I want to push you up against the shower wall and fuck you till all we have is cold water.” Clarke smiled at the sharp intake of breath that she heard Lexa make. Clarke moved back so she could see Lexa’s eyes. “I’ve just been too tired to properly pay attention to you.”

“It’s okay Clarke. I wasn’t trying to start anything, though I want you to know I want you too. I know we are waiting till you’re further along in the pregnancy. I just…really like touching you.”

“Because I wanted to wait till the second trimester because it would be better for the baby doesn’t mean you have to wait. I’ve just been so tired but I…”

“Not unless it is mutual. I can wait till you are ready.” Lexa’s green eyes stared intently into Clarke’s. “Okay.”

Clarke nodded. “Okay.” She moved around underneath the pouring water to make sure all the soap was off of her. Then moved so Lexa could get soaked.

“Why don’t you sit down? I’ll only be a minute.” Lexa grabbed the shampoo bottle as was pouring the pink liquid into her hand.

“Are you sure? I could wash your hair for you.” Clarke thought she had the energy for that.

“Rest while you can hon.” Lexa applied the shampoo to her hair and watched as Clarke sat down on the build in seat in the shower. It didn’t help her libido to remember just how many times they had used that shower seat to make love while in the shower. Her knees were always sore later in the day but it was worth it to hear Clarke scream her name.

Clarke leaned against the shower wall and watched Lexa wash herself. Lexa didn’t take as much time with herself that she took with Clarke. _One of these days I will need to return the favor and I’m so going to enjoy that day._

Clarke knew she wouldn’t be tired forever. Dr. Jennings had told her that it was common to be extremely tired during the first trimester, along with having an upset stomach, vomiting, headache, mood swings and all the other lovely things that happen to your body due to hormonal changes. With Lexa standing before her, all soapy, wet and the hottest woman Clarke had ever seen she was regretting the decision to wait till the second trimester for sex. Dr. Jennings had told them that it is usually safe, but they were being cautious. Dr. Jennings also said most women are not interested in sex during the first trimester, or even during the whole pregnancy. Clarke was interested _. God, look at her. Who wouldn’t? I barely have the energy though to go to work, and I know Marcus knows I’ve been napping during my breaks. After my appointment with Dr. Jennings next month I will arrange for some alone time with Lexa. Tired or not we will figure something out._

Without her contacts or glasses Lexa couldn’t see Clarke clearly but she knew that Clarke was watching her. She liked it when Clarke looked at her. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Lexa turned off the water. “What are you thinking about over there?” Lexa reached for Clarke’s hand and helped her to her feet.

“You.” Clarke said as they stepped out onto the fluffy bathroom rug. She stood there and waited with a smirk on face as Lexa used a towel to dry her off. “You are being so good to me.”

“I like spoiling you every once in a while.” Lexa smiled up at Clarke from her position kneeling at Clarke’s feet to dry them off. “I love you and when I woke up and you were not in bed with me I got a little worried.” Lexa stood back up and wrapped the towel around Clarke and tugged her closer to her. “Next time this happens wake me up.”

Clarke brushed her fingers across Lexa’s left collarbone. “I don’t want to disturb your sleep honey.”

“I don’t care Clarke, even if it’s the middle of the night I want to know where you are and how you are doing.” _I have to know you are safe._ “Please. It scared me to find you on the floor and not knowing what was going on.”

“Okay, I will let you know. I love you so much.” Clarke kissed a spot above Lexa’s heart and rested her head on Lexa’s shoulder. I’m one lucky girl

“I love you too Clarke.” Lexa returned the hug and kissed the side of Clarke’s head. “How about I get dried off, we get dressed and eat something for breakfast?”

The thought of food made Clarke’s stomach queasy, but she thought she would try. She knew she couldn’t go without eating. Holding onto Lexa’s shoulders she pulled her head back and captured Lexa’s lips in a long soft kiss. “Thanks for the wash and the dry.” Clarke smiled at Lexa then walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom to get dressed.

Quickly drying herself off Lexa followed Clarke into the bedroom to get ready for her day.

 

“How are you doing honey?” Lexa pushed send on her cellphone. She was on lunch break at the ranger station. Gus had a doctor’s appointment so he took a half day off of work. There had been a few people come into the park and put their boats in to try and catch some fish. There hadn’t been too many campers so far but that would change in a couple of weeks on Memorial Day weekend. Lexa picked up her phone when it vibrated.

“Sick to my stomach but managed to keep food down. Meeting went okay but the Fairfield fire chief is kind of an asshole. He doesn’t like Marcus too much. So this is going to be fun.” Clarke had added a frowning emoticon. “How are you?”

“Sitting here missing you. Wishing you were here with me. Hoping you are doing okay. Do I sound pathetic yet?” Lexa pushed send then stood up and walked to the coffee pot. She hadn’t been drinking coffee at home because Clarke was not drinking it any more but Gus had made sure she had a full pot before he left. She filled her mug. Her phone buzzed as she sat back down.

“If you’re pathetic then I am pathetic too. I just want to be home with you snuggled up on the couch.”

“Me too.” Lexa typed out on her phone. “Aside from your stomach how are you?” Lexa sipped her coffee as she waited for a response.

“Dead tired and working through lunch. Don’t worry, I am eating something, but Marcus wants and update on the progress. I should probably get back to it. I love you honey. See you at home.”

Lexa quickly typed back. “I love you too.” She sat her phone down on her desk and wished the hours would go by faster.

 

Lexa walked into a dark, quiet house. She knew Clarke was home because her truck was in the garage. As soon as she shut the door she heard tapping of Max’s nails as he crossed the kitchen floor. Lexa hung up her keys and bent down to pet their dog and then Katnip, who came over to get some attention too.

“Where is mommy guys?” Lexa scratched both pet’s heads then stood up. She took off her gun belt and walked to a closet where she hung it up. Unbuttoning her uniform shirt she walked towards the bedroom. She turned on a lamp in the living room then walked into the bedroom. The shades were all down and the room was dark. The light from the living room gave Lexa enough light to show that Clarke was lying down on top of bedspread. She could hear her wife’s breathing. _Must need a nap_.

Stripping off the rest of the uniform she threw it in the laundry hamper and as quietly as she could she pulled dresser drawers open to get out shorts and a t-shirt. After dressing, and feeling relief that she didn’t disturb Clarke, Lexa carefully covered Clarke with an afghan before walking out into the kitchen to let Max out and figure out something for dinner.

 

Lexa was sitting on the couch with the computer on her lap. She had head phones on so she could watch a movie on Netflix without the noise from the TV disturbing Clarke. Dinner had been done an hour and a half ago. She ate and put the rest in storage containers for Clarke when she woke up.

Lexa had debated on waking Clarke up. She needed to eat but sleep was important too and if Clarke was still asleep she probably needed the rest so she let Clarke be.

It was around eight at night when Lexa saw movement and Clarke came out of the bedroom. Her hair was all over and there were wrinkles on her face from how it was pressed against the pillow. She looks so adorable. She paused the movie and pulled the headphones off. She sat the computer on the end table. “Hey sleepy head. How are you?”

“Okay.” Clarke came over and laid down on the couch and put her head on Lexa’s leg. “Sorry I wasn’t awake when you got home.”

Lexa put her hand on Clarke’s shoulder and gently gave it a squeeze. “It’s okay. You needed your rest. Are you hungry? I made some chicken, broccoli and rice.”

“That sounds good but I don’t think I can eat that right now.” Clarke’s hand was down on her stomach, rubbing it.

“How about some oatmeal?” Clarke hadn’t requested any weird food combinations yet but Lexa would be willing to run out and get her anything that she wanted.

“Oatmeal would be good.” Clarke sat up.

“You stay put. I’ll bring it here.” Clarke took the soft fleece blanket from the back of the couch and covered Clarke’s legs. She kissed the top of Clarke’s head. “Look after mommy.” Lexa said to Max as she walked out into the kitchen to make some oatmeal.

 

Clarke jumped awake as she felt a slight shaking to her shoulders. She looked over to see Lexa sitting next to her with a bowl of oatmeal and fresh fruit. “Sorry Lexa. I must have fallen asleep.”

“No problem hon. Eat and when you’re done I will tuck you back into bed.”

Clarke looked at Lexa gratefully. “Thank you. I appreciate everything you are doing.”

“You’re doing the hard part. You’re just letting me be me and I like taking care of you.”

“I like taking care of you too.” Clarke took a bite of her oatmeal.

“You do take care of me and you that really well, but right now you don’t need to worry about me. You need to focus on you and the little one there.” Lexa tilted her head towards Clarke’s stomach.

“Sweetheart, let me be perfectly clear about something. I will always worry about you, care about you, and love you.” Clarke patted her stomach. “We are all going to be looking out for each other because we are family. You can tell me not to worry about you all that you want but that doesn’t mean that I will ever stop.” Clarke’s eyebrows rose. “Got it?”

Lexa smiled and put her head down on Clarke’s shoulder. “Got it.”

“Now, tell me about your day while I eat.” Clarke requested as she ate piece of apple.

Lexa picked up the edge of the blanket and pulled it over so it was covering her legs too. They spent the next forty-five minutes talking about their day and then they both went to bed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a nice fluffy chapter as I needed to write something cute. Watched season 3 trailer and it has me a little worried or at least obsessing about what is going to happen.


	8. Chapter 8

Lexa could see that the bay doors at the fire department were open and two of the fire engines were outside being hosed down by members of the fire department. She pulled into the parking lot and parked next to Clarke’s truck. She could hear the guys laughing and teasing each other as she walked up and around to the front of the building.

Lexa recognized one of the three men cleaning the black and red fire truck. The one that Clarke called Big Red. “Hey Bellamy.” Lexa noticed his dark brown eyes widen when he turned around and spotted her.

“Hi Lexa.” He nervously twisted the towel he had in his hands. “How are you?”

Lexa looked at the other two fire fighters that were out in the driveway with Bellamy. They had stopped what they were doing and watched Lexa and Bellamy with curious expressions. Lexa looked sideways at Bellamy before turning and completely facing him. _What is this all about?_ “I’m fine Bellamy. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m good.” His face reddened when he heard one of the other fire fighters chuckle.

Lexa heard it too and notice Bellamy’s face flush. She moved till she was standing right in front of him. “What is going on?” She whispered. _Why are they acting weird?_

“I…I didn’t mean to.” Bellamy licked his lips. His eyes moving from Lexa, to the concrete drive way and back. _Clarke called her and now I’m going to get my ass handed to me in front of the guys._

_Didn’t mean to? Didn’t mean to do what? This has to be about Clarke._ Lexa leaned her face in closer to Bellamy, her green eyes narrowed as she stared at him. “What did you do?”

Bellamy held up his hands, his left palm facing Lexa, the white towel dangled from right hand. “It really wasn’t that big of a deal…I just…” Bellamy took a step back to put some distance between him and Lexa and bumped into the fire engine. His face reddened even more as his coworkers stood at the front of the fire truck and snickered at him. “I didn’t mean to make her cry, I swear.”

Lexa lifted up her chin and continued to glare at Bellamy. Her voice dropped low. “How did you make Clarke cry?”

“Well…you see…I was telling her how good she looked…like she has this glow about her…and I said that you could hardly tell that she has put on weight and that is when she started crying.” Bellamy hands dropped and he shrugged. “I told her I was sorry.”

Lexa tilted her head to the right and continued her scrutiny of Bellamy. “That’s it? That is what happened?”

Bellamy hung his head. “Yes, other than her throwing a pencil at me and telling me to get out of her office.”

Lexa reached up and put a strand of hair back behind her ear. The corners of her lips upturned slightly. “So when you saw me…?”

“I thought you were here to kick my ass for making your wife cry.” Bellamy admitted.

Lexa bit her lower lip to keep herself from laughing. “I’m not going to kick your ass Bellamy, but I would advise you to never comment on a woman’s weight again, especially a pregnant one.”

Bellamy breathed a sigh of relief. “I was just trying to tell her that she looked good.”

“I get it and its okay.” Lexa assured him.

Lexa had experienced some of Clarke’s mood changes over the past few weeks herself. Even Max had been cautious around Clarke after she yelled at him once. She said she couldn’t stand the smell of Max’s doggie breath and yelled at Max to get away from her. Clarke immediately realized what she had done and broke down in tears because of it and held onto Max while whispering over and over that she was sorry. That had been a particularly emotional evening for both Clarke and Lexa.

“I know…it’s just the hormones and everything…but then you showed up…”

“I’m here to take Clarke to her doctor’s appointment.” Lexa took a few steps toward the bay and turned her head to look back at Bellamy. “Just so you know Bellamy. If I was here to kick your ass…I wouldn’t have said hi to you first.” Lexa grinned before she walked away.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He turned towards his coworkers who were bent over laughing. “Oh you two can just shut up.” He faced the fire engine once again and began drying it off only to get the spray from the hose turned on him. “Assholes.” He extended his middle finger at the other two men. He watched them laugh again as they all went back to cleaning the truck.

 

Lexa walked down the hallway towards the office that Clarke was using and peered through the doorway. Clarke was sitting at her desk, an open file in front of her. Lexa leaned against the door frame and rapt her knuckles against the door. She smiled when Clarke looked up. “Hey beautiful, are you ready to go?”

Clarke looked at her watch. “Wow, it is that time.” She smiled at her wife and closed the file and put it in her desk drawer. Grabbing her bag off the floor she pushed the chair back and stood up.

“Yes, it is that time.” Lexa wrapped her arms around Clarke and gave her a hug before kissing her cheek. “You looked like you were absorbed in what you were doing.”

“Budget and personnel reports. It is interesting to see where our department and others get their funding from.” Clarke closed and locked the office door before following Lexa down the hallway.

“Has funding been a problem?” Lexa held the door open for Clarke and they went through.

“Not for us. Some of the smaller volunteer ones have problems with having enough money for the needed equipment. A few of the departments have a lot of community support with funding and are doing well, however they also are having problems retaining volunteers.”

“I imagine that would be true for all volunteer organizations.”

“Yes.” Clarke had stopped by one of the doors that led out to the bay. She could see Bellamy drying off one off the fire trucks. She bit her lip. “Can you give me a minute?”

Lexa nodded and put her hands in her pockets. “Sure.”

“I’ll be right back. There is something that I have to do.” Clarke opened the door and started across the bay.

Lexa stood looking through the window. She saw Clarke approach Bellamy and she could see that they were talking. After a minute or so they hugged and Clarke started walking back towards Lexa.

Clarke smiled ruefully at Lexa as she came through the door. “I needed to apologize to him. He told me he told you why.”

“Did he tell you that he looked like he was going to pee his pants when I came around the corner of the building?” Lexa put her arm around Clarke as they continued to walk down the hall.

Clarke’s shoulders shook with laughter. “No, he didn’t tell me that.”

Lexa held the door open as Clarke went ahead of her. “He was worried I was going to beat him up for making you cry.”

“Yeah, I feel bad about it now…and I also think it was a little funny. He had such a confused look on his face when I started crying. He didn’t know what to do. I will be glad when these mood swings are over.”

Lexa only nodded as they got into Lexa’s truck and started heading towards Dr. Jennings office. Her office was only a few minutes away.

“How was your morning?” Clarke picked up Lexa’s hand and put it in her lap.

“Good. Sheryl called and confirmed that we were still able to meet her and Beth for lunch.”

“It will be good to catch up with them.” Clarke chuckled. “We certainly packed a lot into this day.”

“Yes, our work, your doctor’s appointment, lunch with Sheryl and Beth. Then the t-ball game tonight.”

“Which Becky is so looking forward to.” Clarke looked out the truck window. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. “I’m glad that they get to finally play tonight.” Her little cousin had been so disappointed at not getting to play so far this year.

“We are trying to come up with some dates to reschedule the games that have been rained out. So far the season will be extended into August.”

“Hopefully there won’t be any more rainouts, otherwise they will be playing all the way up till school starts.”

Lexa nodded her head in agreement. “I can’t believe that Becky is starting kindergarten and Kelsey is walking.” Lexa drove into a right turning lane and turned right. “Though I’m sure Angela wishes she wasn’t.” They had heard from Vesta that Kelsey was now into everything. “It seems like the last year or so has flown by.”

“The last twelve weeks seemed to go by fast.” Clarke patted her stomach. She was finally starting to gain a little noticeable weight. _Before we know it we will be chasing after our own little one._

“The last three months have seemed to fly by.” Lexa agreed as she pulled into the parking lot. It didn’t seem that long ago since they had been to Dr. Jennings’ office for the first time.

After circling the lot Lexa was able to find a spot. She parked her truck and they got out. As they made their way toward the building she could hear the sounds of sirens. They stopped on the sidewalk and heard the familiar blow horn of a fire engine. Looking out to the street they saw two engines speed by. The same ones that had been washed.

Lexa took Clarke’s hand. “Do you miss it?”

Clarke nodded. “Yes, I do.” She tugged on Lexa’s hand and they continued to walk towards the building. “But I’m doing what I need to do right now for us and our baby.” She prayed wherever her fire family was going they would remain safe.

 

Dr. Jennings sat at her desk in front of Clarke and Lexa. “Everything appears to be normal for your stage of pregnancy. Your vital signs are doing well. Since the appointment where we did your pregnancy test you have gained six pounds. That is good. Most women gain anywhere from one to five pounds during the first trimester. We will get your lab work done and probably call you tomorrow with the results.” She made a note in Clarke’s file. “How is the nausea and vomiting?”

“I haven’t had a problem with that all week.” Clarke was grateful for that. For three weeks she had been nauseous and didn’t feel like eating. Every time she ate she felt like she was going to throw up. She found herself bent over the toilet several times. “I felt like all I spent most of my time in the bathroom. I either felt like I had to throw up or I had to pee a lot.”

Dr. Jennings nodded. “Feeling the need to urinate frequently is normal. Are you still napping during the day?”

“On the weekends but not so much during the week anymore. I feel like I have a little bit more energy. My breasts are still sore though and I’m moody quite a bit.” She turned to Lexa and smiled apologetically.

“You have a lot of hormones making changes to your body. The mood swings and breast tenderness is normal. That should get better during the second and third trimester.” She smiled at the two women seated in front of her. “How are you sleeping otherwise?”

“Aside from those times at night when I’ve felt sick I’ve slept well.” Each time she had gotten up at night she had woken Lexa up to tell her where she was going. Lexa got up with her and she was grateful that Lexa was there to rub her back but she hated her wife losing out on her sleep. It was what Lexa had requested her to do and she never complained about it.

“How is work going for you?” Dr. Jennings asked while making another note.

“It’s fine.” Clarke thought about the fire trucks flying by earlier. “I miss responding to calls, and some of the paperwork I’m doing is boring but I’m learning a lot about what it is like to be an administrator. The ins and outs of running a fire department is more detailed then I had ever imagined and I have more respect for my Chief because of it.”

Dr. Jennings folded her hands in front of her on the desk. “How is the relationship going between you too?”

“Between us?” Lexa was surprised at the question and glanced at Clarke. “I think we are doing fine?” She looked to see if Clarke would confirm her feelings.

“Yes, we are doing great.” Clarke squeezed Lexa’s thigh. “Lexa has been wonderful, even when I haven’t been such a nice person lately.”

Dr. Jennings nodded her head. “This is a time that often puts a lot of stress and anxiety on couples. You worry about the baby and how the choices that you make will affect the baby’s development. How having this baby is going to change your life, change your relationship with your spouse. It sometimes challenges a lot of couples.”

Lexa looked fondly at Clarke and placed her hand over Clarke’s that was on her thigh. “We haven’t had many issues come up. I do worry about Clarke and her health and the health of the baby. I want to be involved as much as possible and I empathize with Clarke but I know I have no way of knowing what it is like for Clarke right now.” _Yet_. “My focus is on doing what I can to take care of both of them and support her however she needs. If issues come up we talk about it.”

“Lexa has been very supportive.” Clarke smiled. “I worry about her too, but as she said we talk a lot about how we are feeling. Our relationship is solid.”

Dr. Jennings nodded. “I’m glad to hear that the communication is strong.” The corner of her mouth turned up. “And your sexual relationship. How is that going?”

Clarke shifted in her chair as she met the doctor’s inquiring look. “We’ve done a lot of hugging, kissing and cuddling but haven’t had sex for three months.”

“I’m sure you have done a lot of research and that you know as long as you don’t develop any complications it is safe to have sex. It’s encouraged in fact. Some women once they get past the first trimester want sex all the time.” Dr. Jennings gave a lopsided grin, most of her patients did. “However, sexual desire does ebb and flow for both partners. Some couples worry that it will be harmful to the baby but your baby is very well protected and there shouldn’t be problems with sex all the way up to the point where your water breaks. Now as we have discussed before Clarke as your belly gets bigger you may want to try some modified positions. Such as sex from the side. It won’t be that comfortable lying on your back. Also with oral sex licking is fine but any type of blowing near the vagina is not advised. It is rare but it can cause an air embolism to form.”

Clarke appreciated the doctor’s candor. They had indeed done the research. “We have been abstaining during the first trimester.” Clarke glanced at Lexa, a smile stretched across her face. “I’m sure we will return to normal…activities now that I’m going into the second trimester.” Clarke at least hoped so since she had more energy them before _. I do miss touching Lexa like that._

Lexa shared a small smile with Clarke and nodded her agreement. She was looking forward to being able to make love to Clarke again. _I know it is safe but I’m still going to be careful. We can take it nice and slow. I’ll be extra gentle so it’s comfortable for Clarke._

“If neither one of you is ready hugging, kissing and touching is nice too. It’s just important to keep some type of physical connection going along with good communication.”

“We are very affectionate with each other so I don’t think it will be a problem.” Lexa squeezed Clarke’s hand.

Dr. Jennings grinned and scooted her chair back. “That is one of the things I like about you two. You are very supportive of each other and you communicate so well. Too many couples unfortunately don’t do that.” She stood. “Do either of you have any questions for me?”

“No.” Clarke shook her head.

Lexa shook her head no. Still holding Clarke’s hand they stood up.

“Well then, I will see you both in another four weeks. Have a great day.” Dr. Jennings walked them to her office door and held the door open for them. “Take care and we will let you know about your blood work.”

“You too.” Lexa shook the doctor’s hand as they walked out of her office and into the waiting room.

“Everything is going as it should be. I’m happy about that.” Clarke said as they walked out onto the sidewalk. The heat from the midmorning sun actually felt good to her as they were coming out of the air conditioned building.

“I’m very glad of that honey.” Lexa switched from holding Clarke’s hand to wrapping her arm around Clarke’s waist as they walked towards her truck. She stopped by the passenger door and pulled Clarke into a hug. “You know I’m proud of you and love you very much.”

“I love you too.” The side of Clarke’s face was pressed against Lexa’s as they continued to hold onto each other. They had last hugged like this that morning before going to work and each time they did Clarke didn’t want to let go.

The tender moment was broken by the loud grumble coming from Clarke’s stomach. They were both laughing as they moved back from each other.

Lexa glanced down at Clarke’s stomach and then looked back up into her wife’s amused blue eyes. “I think our kid is saying enough with the hugging moms, feed me.”

Clarke patted her stomach. “I think you’re right.”

Lexa opened Clarke’s door and helped her get into the truck. She leaned in to kiss Clarke tenderly and grinned into the kiss when Clarke’s stomach once again protested. “Okay, okay.” Lexa kissed Clarke on the chin and patted her stomach. “I get the point.” She shook her head, smiling the whole time as she shut Clarke’s door and ran around to the driver’s door. She climbed in and started the truck.

Clarke smiled and rolled her eyes. “I guess we better start getting used to it now. Once the baby gets here I’m sure he or she will want a lot of attention.”

“I can’t wait.” Lexa gave Clarke a soft smile as she put the truck into reverse. “Let’s get to the restaurant so we can get you both fed.” Lexa put the truck into drive and headed out of the parking lot.

“I’ll text Sheryl and let her know we are on our way.” Clarke got out her cell phone and began typing out her text. It was close to the time that they had agreed to meet Sheryl and Beth.

“Tell them to hurry up. The baby is hungry.”

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Clarke and Lexa wended their way through the restaurant as they followed the hostess to the table that Sheryl and Beth were at.

“Here comes the parents to be.” Sheryl stood and hugged Lexa first, then she hugged Clarke.

“Yes, in another six months or so.” Clarke smiled. “How are you both?” Clarke took her turn at hugging Beth.

“We are great.” Sheryl said as they all sat down at the table. “How are the two of you? How did your appointment go?”

“Everything is going well, just as it is supposed to be, and we are doing great.” Lexa said.

“Welcome everyone. I’m Donna. What can I get you to drink?” She wrote down everyone’s drink order. “Okay, I will let you look at the menu and I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Donna smiled and left the table.

“You both look really happy.” Beth smiled at them both. “Clarke, you look absolutely radiant.”

Clarke smiled at the other woman’s complement. “Thank you Beth.”

“We really are happy.” Lexa reached over and took Clarke’s hand. “How is the new apartment?”

“Oh, it is really nice. The perfect size for us. It’s nice not having a bunch of roommates.” Sheryl took out her phone. “I’ll text you the address since I forgot to do that yet.”

“Do you still get your mail at your P.O. box?” Lexa glanced up from the menu she was looking at.

“Yes, that hasn’t changed.” Sheryl hit send on her phone. “There you go. It’s a cute little apartment. You should come visit sometime.”

“We will do that.” Lexa smiled at her cousin before turned towards Clarke. “Do you know what you want honey?”

“One of everything.” Clarke laughed as she put down her menu. “It all looks good.”

“Whatever you want, you know that.” Lexa put down her menu after making her decision.

“Since we let Becky pick the place to eat at tonight and she wants pizza I will get something a little heathier now.” Becky was also coming to stay over after the game. _Having her and the boys stay over has been good practice for us._

“Are you ready to order?” Donna asked. She took the menus after everyone placed their orders.

“How is the coaching going?” Sheryl asked.

“Well, I haven’t had to do much of it this year so far. Every game has been rained out.”

“Oh that is too bad.” Beth said. “Poor kids.”

“Yes, it hasn’t been a lot of fun for them so far. Tonight is our first game of the season that we get to play. We haven’t been able to have too many practices so it will be interesting to see how the kids do tonight.” Lexa expected the game to be amusing but knew that the more competitive parents might not think it was funny.

Sheryl took her silverware out of her napkin. “I wish we were able to go but we are having dinner at Angela’s tonight.”

“How is Angela doing?” Lexa hadn’t seen Sheryl’s sister since she had shown up the night of their bachelorette party, though Angela had sent them a card congratulating them on their wedding and had sent her a birthday card on her last birthday.

“She is doing well. Still happily married. After everything that has happened we get along better than we have ever had.” Sheryl shrugged. “We seemed to have bonded over both being disowned by mom. She can’t tolerate having a gay daughter or tolerate her other daughter being supportive of us.”

Lexa shook her head at the mention of her homophobic aunt. “It’s a shame that she has to be like that.”

“True.” Sheryl agreed. “But I do have to say that the holidays were pretty nice without her being there bitching about everything.”

“That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t complain to other relatives that are still talking to her. We get to hear all the lovely things she has to say about us.” Beth said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

“I can imagine.” Clarke looked at the two women across from her with sympathy. “It’s better that she doesn’t come around. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.”

“Amen to that.” Sheryl said. “So when do you find out if you’re having a boy or a girl?”

“We have decided we wanted it to be a surprise. We don’t care what the gender is. We just want the baby to be healthy.” Clarke replied.

“Have you had any weird food cravings yet?”

Clarke shook her head. “Not yet, though if I do Lexa will run out and pick it up for me.” Clarke turned to her wife. “Isn’t that right honey?”

Lexa leaned over and kissed Clarke’s cheek. “That is true.” Lexa extended her arm along the back of Clarke’s chair and looked back towards Sheryl and Beth with a smile. _Whatever Clarke needs I will make sure she has it._

“I think this baby is going to be one lucky kid.” Sheryl smiled back at Lexa. “You both are going to awesome parents.”

“Thanks, we really hope so.” Lexa gently rubbed the back of Clarke’s neck.

As their food arrived conversation turned to updates on jobs, school and how Clarke and Lexa were going to decorate the baby’s room, which was the room right next to theirs.

“I’m drawing a zoo themed mural on one of the walls in the bedroom. There will be lions, tigers and bears. A few monkeys hanging from a tree. A giraffe, zebra and an elephant. Once I’m done Lexa is going to help me paint it.”

“Which should be interesting because I have no artistic ability.”

“You will be fine honey.” Clarke patted Lexa’s arm.

“That sounds really neat.” Beth said.

Sheryl nodded in agreement. “You will have to take a picture and send it to us when you are done.”

“We can do that.” Lexa said as she turned towards Clarke. “Did you get enough to eat?” She leaned a little closer towards Clarke and lowered her voice. “The little one all happy now in there?”

“Yes, we are both pretty satisfied right now.” Clarke smiled at Lexa’s concern. “I think I could use a little nap though.”

“We have time before the game if that is what you want to do.”

Clarke kissed Lexa’s shoulder. “I’ll see how I feel when we get home.”

Sheryl turned to Beth and tilted her head towards Clarke and Lexa. “Are they cute or what?”

“Yes, very.” Beth laughed.

“Yeah, like you two haven’t been over there giving each other mushy looks throughout lunch.” Lexa’s eyebrows rose as she glanced at Sheryl. “I also know that you have been holding each other’s hand underneath the table.”

Sheryl smiled. “Yes, we have. Just like you two.”

After Donna dropped off the check they paid and walked out to their vehicles. The sun was shining and it was going to be a good day for their game in a few hours. But first Lexa was looking forward to going home and napping with Clarke.

“I’m glad we were able to come see you two. Promise me that you will come to our place for a visit soon.” Sheryl asked.

Lexa nodded. “I promise. You two drive carefully and we will talk to you soon.”

 

Lexa parked Clarke’s truck at the ball field parking lot at Cherrydale Park. All the little league games were played there on two fields. In between the fields sat the concession stand. She could smell the combination of fresh cut grass and popcorn as they exited the truck. Lexa looked over to the small playground area on the other side of the parking lot. If she was still coaching in a couple of years she imagined herself being on the field and looking over to catch a glimpse of Clarke pushing their little boy or girl on the swing set. _I can’t wait to do that with our kid._

Lexa grabbed a bag that held the bats and balls and walked with Clarke towards the bleachers of field one. Bothe Lexa and Clarke wore team t-shirts that were light blue with the team’s sponsors name on the front. Several of the kids on her team were there already waiting for Lexa and the other coach Howie to arrive.

“Is there anything I can get you before we warm up?” Lexa asked Clarke. “Something to drink or a snack?”

Clarke stepped up into the second row of the bleachers and sat down. “No honey, I’m okay right now. Have a good game.”

“Thanks.” Lexa smiled at her wife before walking over to the third base dugout.

Several of the kids came running over when they saw her. All the kids were talking, laughing and jostling each other. “Are you all ready for our first game?” Lexa smiled as the kids yelled excitedly.

 

Clarke grinned and waved at Becky who came running past her in front of the bleachers. Becky took the time to wave but kept running as fast as her little legs could take her as she ran over to Lexa.

“How are you doing?” Clarke scooted over and smiled as Vesta came and took a seat next to her. She noticed Billy and Ryan going to the concession stand.

“It’s been a long day, but I’m doing well. How are you?” Vesta’s eyes moved up and down and she examined Clarke. “You know you kind of make me sick.” Vesta laughed. “When I was three months pregnant with Angela I was a mess. You look really good.”

Clarke’s eyes narrowed. “Thanks, I think.” Clarke smiled and waved as some other parents of the kids on their team came and sat on the bleachers. “Where is your oldest and your granddaughter?”

“Home with a sick little girl.” Vesta’s watched Becky, along with her team run into the dugout. “Kelsey’s got a little cold.”

“That’s too bad. I hope she feels better soon.”

“Me too. Kelsey is very clingy right now and her little coughing fits about break my heart.” Vesta looked at Clarke and the corners of her lips twitched. “You’ll find out all about that soon enough.”

“That is what everyone keeps telling me.” Clarke watched as Becky’s team took the field.

“It’s really cute though. Becky has been trying to take care of her. She is making sure Angela has Kleenexes and wanted to make Kelsey some chicken noodle soup and put it in her sippy cup.”

Clarke chuckled as she thought about the soup being in the sippy cup. “That’s isn’t going to work very well. She would get the broth anyway. It’s nice that she is trying to look after her.” Clarke could imagine Becky growing up and being in the medical field like her mother and sister. “So was Becky excited about the game tonight?”

“It has been all she has been talking about today. She’s had her t-shirt on as soon as she got up this morning and has been checking the weather channel to make sure it didn’t look like rain.”

Clarke chuckled as Ryan and Billy walked over to them. Ryan handed Vesta a Diet Coke. The both had bottles of Coca Cola and popcorn.

“Mom can we borrow your phone to play games on?” Billy asked.

“No, not right now. You can either sit here and watch the game or go play on the playground.”

“Do we have to sit next to you?” Ryan asked. “Can we sit at the top of the bleachers?”

“Yes, you can sit up there, but not fighting. If I hear you two start to fight then you will have to come sit by your old, uncool mom. Got it?”

Both boys said “yes ma’am” as they climbed further up into the bleachers and sat down.

“Old and uncool mom?” Clarke’s eyebrows rose.

“Yeah, they are getting to be at an age where they don’t want to be seen too close to me. If I hug them or kiss them in front of their friends they act all embarrassed. I’m supposedly uncool because I don’t know anything about their video games and some anime thing they watch. According to them anyone over thirty is considered old.”

“Guess I’m still young by their standards since I have several years yet before then.”

Vesta shook her head. “No, not really because you’re going to be a mom soon and according to Ryan anyone that is a parent is automatically considered old.”

Clarke laughed and shook her head as she watched the activity on the field. “Where do they come up with this stuff?”

“Friends at school I guess.” Vesta said. “At least Becky and Kelsey still want to be around me. They like to be hugged and cuddled still.”

“Guess I’m half cool then. I’m not a gamer but I do like some of the anime.” Clarke glanced over her shoulder at the boys and wondered what her baby was going to be interested in when he or she got older. _What about me would make my kid decide they didn’t want to be seen with me anymore?_ Clarke shook her head _. I have a long time before I need to worry about that, if ever._

Becky’s team got a third out and they came back to the dugout to take their turn at bat. Lexa jogged around the back of home plate and smiled at Clarke and Vesta as she made her way to first base.

Vesta opened up her bottle of Diet Coke and took a drink. “I’m really glad that Lexa has taken the time to help Becky out. She has improved so much with Lexa’s guidance.”

“Lexa enjoyed helping her out and she loves being a coach. She had a blast last year helping the kids become better ball players.” Clarke had enjoyed coming to the games as well and at the end of the season they had the kids and their parents out to their house for a cook out.

“Becky wants to continue to play ball but she’s not happy that she won’t have Lexa as a coach next year.”

“I’m sure Lexa will continue to work with her and we will come to her games and cheer her on.”

“I’m sure Becky will love that. The boys appreciated you two coming to a few of their games last year, not that they would admit to that.”

They both sat and watched as Becky came up to the batting tee. A little yellow bat sat on her shoulders and she stopped in front of the piece of equipment. One of the other coaches that was acting as an umpire lowered the tee for Becky. The boy that batted before her was a little talker and had made it to first base. Clarke and Vesta cheered on Becky as they waited for her to take her swing.

Becky had briefly looked back at her mom while the tee was being adjusted for her. Then she looked down the first base line to Lexa, who was cheering her on and then she looked at Coach Howie who stood by third base. He was clapping and telling her to go ahead and swing at the ball. Becky eyed the ball and her face hardened in concentration. She lined up the bat, her face showed her determination. Then she pulled the bat back before she swung the bat forward with all her strength and connected with the ball. She didn’t know where the ball went exactly, it was up in the air somewhere as she took off and ran to Lexa. She could see Eric take off running towards second base but she kept her eyes on Lexa as she ran towards her. She kept up her speed like Lexa taught her till she stepped onto first base. Both she and Eric were safe on their bases.

“Good job Becky.” Lexa held out her hand for Becky to slap.

Becky high fived Lexa. “I hit the ball really hard that time.” She grinned.

“Yes, you did. That was awesome.” Lexa bent over so she was more on the same eye level as Becky. “Now remember to watch Chris. When he hits the ball I want you to run as fast as you can to second base, unless someone catches the ball okay?”

“Got it.” Becky nodded. She looked to home plate and watched Chris.

With Chris’ first attempted to hit the ball he ended up striking and knocked over the batting tee. He waited patiently as it was put upright again and the ball placed. The second swing connected with the ball.

“Run Becky.” Lexa said.

Chris stood there looking at the ball. It moved about two feet in front of home plate. Howie was yelling for him to run and so was Lexa who was waving her arms trying to get his attention. He looked at Lexa, with wide eyes and started running towards her, dragging the bat behind him.

“Let go of the bat Chris.” Lexa saw one of the kids on the other team pick up the ball and attempt to throw it at first base. The throw ended up being over the first base player’s head and he went chasing after the ball. Lexa glanced back to see where the ball had gone and started waving Chris on. “Good job keep going to second.” _If he can keep running he should make it to second base._

Chris was between first and second base when he stumbled and fell over. Lexa started to go over to him but he got back to his feet and kept going.

Howie had waved Eric to run home and had Becky come to third base. There was an attempt at a throw to second, and the throw was good. The second base player caught the ball, but by the time the ball got there Chris was already safe on base. Some parent were standing and clapping while Eric rushed into the dugout, a big smile on his face as his teammates clapped him on the back in congratulations. The kids were also cheering for Chris and his double.

The next three batters ended up getting out and Lexa’s team had returned to the field to start the second inning. At the end of five innings they had won by three points. Howie and Lexa split the cost of buying a small drink for all the players. After getting her drink Becky came running up to Vesta and Clarke who were standing by the bleachers.

“Did you see it where I caught the ball mom?”

“I did baby girl. You played really well.” Vesta smiled at Becky and gave her shoulder a little squeeze.

“Did you see it Clarke?” Becky asked.

“I did and that was a really nice catch.”

“We get to go eat now?” Becky took a sip of her drink. “And I still get to ride with Clarke and Lexa there right?”

“Yes, you get to ride with Clarke and Lexa. We will all leave as soon as Lexa is ready and I round up the boys.”

“They didn’t watch my game?” Becky frowned as she looked around for her brothers.

“They watched most of it then went over to the playground. The saw you catch that ball.” Vesta smiled at her daughter and hoped since they did see the catch that would be enough to keep Becky from being too upset. They gave her a hard enough time about her abilities and she wanted to prove to them that she was just as good as they were.

“Hey.” Lexa came over and wrapped her arm around Clarke’s waist and gave a little squeeze. She looked down at Becky. “You were great out there kiddo.” Lexa patted Becky’s back. “Are you ready for some pizza?”

“Oh yeah!”

“When isn’t she?” Vesta rolled her eyes. “Okay sweetie, I will see you in a little bit. Be good for Clarke and Lexa.”

“I will mom.”

 

“Where would you like to sit Becky?” Lexa asked as they walked into the restaurant. A sign said they could seat themselves.

“I want to sit next to you.” Becky said to Lexa. “Mom can sit by Ryan and Billy.”

Lexa glanced at Clarke and smiled. She had been referring to what table they should sit at. “You don’t want to sit by Clarke? Won’t she be all alone then?”

“No, silly. Remember Clarke already has a kid sitting with her. The little baby in her belly.”

Clarke laughed and covered her stomach with her hand. “Yes, there is a little baby in my belly but it’s not taking up much room right now. If you want to sit next to me that would be okay.”

“Or how about you sit in between us?” Lexa suggested rubbing Becky’s head. “That way both of us can keep an eye on you.”

“Yeah, because you know I’m a handful.”

Both Clarke and Lexa laughed. “And then some.” Lexa grinned as she teased Becky.

Lexa slide first into the booth followed by Becky and then Clarke. It was easier for Clarke to sit on the outside of the booth since she was making more frequent trips to the bathroom.

Vesta and the boys arrived and the pizzas were ordered. The boys went to the game room as soon as they could and were gone till the pizza arrived. Conversation revolved around the t-ball game and how Ryan and Billy were doing in little league. Clarke and Lexa promised to go to one of their games soon. Ryan and Billy were not on the same team, fortunately their games fell on the same day. They worked it out that those days that it conflicted with Becky’s schedule Clarke and Lexa were going to pick her up and take her to the game, while Vesta went to the boy’s games.

 

Lexa carried a near sleeping Becky into the house. Becky’s little arms were wrapped around her neck. Her overnight bag was slung over her shoulder. Max wagged his tail and greeted them at the back door.

Lexa put her keys and cell phone on the counter. “Why don’t you take him out and I will put little miss here to bed?”

“I need to go to the bathroom first.” Becky opened up her eyes and yawned. “Hi Maxy.”

“Looks like we both will be taking someone to pee.” Clarke opened up the back screen door and slipped out with Max at her heels.

Lexa put Becky down and got into her bag to get out her pajamas. “Here you go hon.” She handed Becky the clothing and followed her to the bathroom door. Becky yawned and rubbed her eyes as she went into the bathroom. Lexa walked into the bedroom next to theirs. Two of the white walls had the beginnings of the zoo mural on them. Clarke had completed the two monkeys playing in a tree and on another wall a bear and elephant was almost finished. There was still much to do but it was coming along. Lexa pulled back the covers so Becky could get in. _She tuckered out real quick on the way home._ They were going to play some Uno when they got back but when things were too quiet in the back seat Lexa looked in the rear view mirror and found Becky asleep curled up next to her overnight bag.

Becky walked into the room followed by Clarke. Half opened eyes looked at art work on the walls. “Can I be in the picture?” Becky asked. She walked to the bed and climbed in.

“You want me to draw you in?” Clarke pulled the blankets up to Becky’s shoulders and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, that way my cousin can see me every day.” Becky yawned. “Can you draw me holding…” Becky paused as she tried to think. “…Some red balloons or holding some cotton candy.” Becky’s yawn was longer this time. “I’m sleepy.”

“You go ahead and sleep and I will draw some ideas tonight and show you tomorrow. You can pick whatever one you want okay?”

“Okay.” Becky leaned up on her elbow and reached out and patted Clarke’s stomach. “Goodnight little cousin.” She laid back down in bed. “Love you guys.” Becky gave a tiny wave and closed her eyes.

“We love you too.” Lexa said around the small lump that formed in her throat. She met Clarke gaze as she stood up. Clarke looked like she was trying to hold some tears in. Lexa closed the door halfway as they left the room.

“She is the sweetest kid.” Clarke wrapped her arms around Lexa and leaned in for a hug.

“Yes she is.” Lexa returned the hug. “So do you want to stay up and watch a movie or go to bed?”

“Watch a movie. I need to stay up for a little bit. My stomach is really upset. I’m not sure the pizza is sitting well with me.”

“Go sit down and pick out a movie. I will bring you a glass of milk.”

Clarke hugged Lexa again. “You are the best.”

Lexa kissed Clarke’s forehead and turned around and headed into the kitchen. She glanced over at Clarke as she opened the refrigerator door. Clarke had grabbed her notepad and was sitting on the couch, pencil in hand. After pouring the milk she put the carton back in the refrigerator and shut the door. She was halfway back into the living room when her cell phone rang. She quickly gave the glass of milk to Clarke and headed back into the kitchen. The name on the caller ID said the call was from Harvey.

Lexa answered the phone. “Hey Harvey what’s up?”

“Hi Lexa, listen I just want you to know that Gus and I are at the emergency room. We think Gus had a heart attack.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know...cliffhanger.


	10. Chapter 10

 

“Oh my god Harvey, when…what happened?” Lexa sat down on the couch and reached out to take Clarke’s hand.

Clarke couldn’t hear what had been said but by the serious expression on her wife’s face and the tone of her voice she could tell whatever the call was about it wasn’t good.

“Okay…yes…I’m on my way.” Lexa ended the call and pulled Clarke’s hand into her lap. “Gus may have had a heart attack.”

Clarke’s face paled. “Oh my god is he…?”

“At the hospital emergency room. I’m sorry honey but I need to go.”

Clarke moved to the edge of the couch and stood up with Lexa. “Do you want me to go with you? I could wake up Becky.”

Lexa pulled Clarke into a hug. “Normally yes I would want you to go with me but I don’t want to have to wake up Becky. Thank you for offering though.” Lexa released Clarke and they walked into the kitchen so Lexa could get her keys. “I will call you when I know more.”

Clarke rubbed Lexa’s arm and kissed her cheek. “I love you. Be safe.”

“I love you too. Please try and get some rest.”

Clarke nodded. “I will try. Tell them that I love them and to hang in there.” She shared a small smile with Lexa just before Lexa walked out the back door.

 

It took Lexa twenty minutes to get to the hospital. She waited impatiently as the receptionist called back to the emergency room for a nurse to come get her to lead her back. It took ten minutes before she was allowed to go back to Gus’ room and not knowing what was going on was irritating her. She stood in the open doorway and looked into the room. Harvey was sitting in a chair next to Gus who was lying on the hospital bed.

Lexa put a smile on her face as she knocked on the door before walking into the room. “If you wanted to take a little vacation there is less dramatic ways of asking for one.” She squeezed Harvey’s shoulder and patted Gus on the leg.

“Hey.” Gus said weakly as he looked at her through hooded eyes.

Gus was dressed in a hospital gown and an IV went into his left hand. A blood pressure cuff was wrapped around his upper right arm. Leads to the monitor disappeared underneath his gown and Lexa knew exactly where they were placed. His right index finger was covered by a pulse oximeter and a nasal cannula delivered oxygen through his nose. He was very pale.

“Where is Clarke?” Harvey asked.

“We are babysitting her cousin Becky and she stayed home with her.” Lexa glanced at the monitors. She had enough knowledge to see that Gus’ blood pressure and heart rate was up. “Do you know anything yet?”

Harvey shook his head. “No, not yet. They got him in here and attached to everything right away. Gave him some aspirin, nitro and morphine. Then took some blood and did an EKG. He is supposed to be taken to radiology for a chest x-ray but they haven’t been in yet. The doctor that was in here earlier said he is stable for now.” Harvey stood and stretched. “Will you sit with him? I didn’t want to leave him alone and there is some thing I need to do.”

“Sure, not a problem.” Lexa sat in the chair that was vacated by Harvey. She watched as Harvey tenderly looked at Gus and took his hand. Sweet words were quietly whispered to Gus before Harvey left the room.

Lexa sat in the chair and looked at her friend and father figure. She didn’t know what to say. Gus laid in the bed with his eyes closed. The only way that Lexa knew he was alive for sure was the numbers on the monitor and the rise and fall of Gus’ chest. He didn’t speak. He opened his eyes a couple of times to make sure that Lexa was still there. Lexa wasn’t used to seeing the big man like this. She reached through the side rails and put her hand on his wrist. His fingers twitched in response.

Harvey walked back into the room a few minutes later. “Sorry, I really needed to go to the bathroom.” He admitted. “I also called Betty and Alice, they are on their way. Betty said she was going to call Abby and let her know.” He lowered his voice.

“So what happened? You did say over the phone.”

“We were coming home from Betty and Alice’s. We went over to have dinner and play some cards. He hasn’t been feeling good the past couple of days, some pain and a little shortness of breath.” Harvey noticed Lexa give Gus a hard look. “He didn’t say anything to you about not feeling good I take it.”

Lexa took a deep breath and tried not being too angry at Gus. “No he didn’t.” If she would have known she would have told him to go to the doctor.

“Anyway we were on our way home and he told me he was having some pain in his chest.” Harvey rubbed the stubble on his face with his hand. “A large amount of pain that he said seemed to spread to his arm and jaw. He said he suddenly started feeling like shit. So instead of heading home, like the Mr. stubborn wanted me to.” Harvey gave Gus and affectionate look. “I brought him here.”

“I’m glad you did.” Lexa squeezed Gus’ wrist thinking about what could have happened if he didn’t come to the hospital. “Even if it turns out to be nothing you needed to make sure.”

“That is what I argued and since I was driving he didn’t have a choice.” Harvey knew he would have begged and pleaded for Gus to go into the hospital if he had to. Luckily Gus had felt so bad he didn’t need further convincing when Harvey told him he was taking him to the hospital.

Both Harvey and Lexa looked up when there was a knock at the open door.

“Hi, I’m Mike. I’m here to get a chest x-ray.” The young man had a portable x-ray machine with him. “If you all wouldn’t mind stepping out for a few minutes I will get his done and you can go back in the room.”

“We’ll be back my friend.” Lexa said as she and Harvey stepped out into the hall and walked towards the waiting area.

“He doesn’t look good.” Lexa said in a worried tone. Gus was a little too quiet.

“No, he doesn’t, but he is a tough guy.” Harvey shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned up against the wall.

“Even if it comes back as nothing I’m giving him some time off.” _I’ll figure something out. I can give the others some overtime._

“He won’t like that but I think he needs it. His doctor has been telling him to take it easy and he has been doing much better with his diet but not doing as much exercise as he should or reducing his stress.”

“I’ve seen him eat his veggies.” Lexa chuckled. “He complains about it the whole time but he still eats them.

“They are certainly not his favorite thing.” Harvey agreed. “Unless they are potatoes, those he will eat without complaining. Of course he has to add a bunch of butter and sour cream which isn’t exactly healthy.” He shrugged and decided to change the subject. “So how is Clarke doing. I remember Gus saying you had an appointment today?”

“She is doing really well.” Lexa smiled as she thought about her wife and the life growing inside of her. “Everything with the pregnancy has been normal so far.”

“That is good Lexa. I know we can’t wait to see and hold your little one.” Harvey looked down at the floor and frowned. _Least I hope Gus is going to be around for that._

Lexa reached over and patted Harvey on the shoulder. “I can’t either and I can’t wait to see you _both_ spoil him or her.” She noticed the portable machine and Mike leave the room. “Looks like we can go back to the room.”

They went back to the room and Harvey took the chair while Lexa leaned against the wall. About ten minutes later a thirty something woman with short brown hair and a white coat walking into the room.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Katherine Brown.” She introduced herself to Lexa as she walked over to the opposite side of the bed that Harvey and Lexa stood on.

“Hello again, how are you feeling right now? Are you in a lot of pain?”

Gus opened his eyes and looked at the doctor. “Not the best, but the pain, it’s tolerable.” Gus replied.

“Good, I’m glad the pain medication we gave you earlier is giving you some relief. Do you feel worse or better since you came in?”

Gus’ shoulder shrugged slightly. “About the same.”

Dr. Brown looked at Lexa and Harvey then back down to Gus as she prepared to fill them in on what they found so far. “I’m admitting you to the hospital. I’ve had a change to look at your EKG. It is showing an abnormal rhythm. Also your levels of heart enzymes is elevated. That would suggest, along with your symptoms that you have had a myocardial infarction, or a heart attack.”

Lexa listened as Dr. Brown went over some other possible tests, such as a repeated EKG and enzyme test and other procedures she would order depending on Gus’ results as well as the medications she would prescribe. Lexa saw Gus nodded to what the doctor was saying. The doctor was finishing up as Alice and Betty arrived.

“I will have someone come down and take you up to your room and get your tests ordered. I will come and check on you later.” Dr. Brown nodded to Alice and Betty as she left the room.

Betty squeezed Lexa’s shoulder as she walked into the room. “So what did the doctor have to say?” Betty asked. She moved to the head of the bed with Alice putting her hand on Gus’ shoulder.

“The doctor said Gus did have a heart attack and will be in the hospital for a little while.” Harvey held Gus’ hand. “They’re going to run some test to see what caused the heart attack, see if it’s some defect or blockage and they will see how much damage was done.”

“Good thing you came in right away. Whatever damage you have could have been much worse.” The fact that Gus could have died was left unsaid. Betty lightly squeezed Gus’ shoulder. “How long do you have to be in the hospital for?”

Gus looked up at Betty. His voice was low and wavering as he spoke. “Dr. Brown said for at least thirty six hours. Maybe more depending on what they find.” Gus glanced at Lexa. “Guess this means no work for me for a while.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Lexa said as she leaned over the bedrail and made sure Gus could see her. “I’ll get everything taken care of. You just focus on getting better and that is an order mister.”

Gus’ eyebrows rose slightly and his lips quirked up at the corners. “Okay.” Gus shifted his position in bed. “I can do that.”

Harvey offered Gus a smile. “Don’t worry about anything at home. Your mission right now is to do what your doctor tells you to do. I’ll take care of everything else.”

Alice wrapped her arm around her wife’s shoulders. “Betty and I will help anyway we can, okay big man?” She looked to Harvey. “Anything you need alright.” She saw Harvey’s nod and her gaze shifted to Gus. “You just take it easy.”

“You will be out of here in no time.” Betty leaned over and making eye contact with Gus. “No more pie for you.”

“Oh man…never?” Gus’ eyes widened at the thought that he would have to give up pie for the rest of his life. He knew he overate earlier but Betty was such a good cook it was hard to pass up.

“You ate three pieces this evening.” Betty gestured to Gus lying in the bed. “I can’t help feel that I’ve contributed to this somehow.”

“You didn’t. Those three pieces, which were awesome by the way, were not the single reason for me being here.” Gus took a deep breath, which was a little difficult for him to do. “This was from me not taking care of myself for a long time.”

“Maybe so.” Betty conceded. “I’ll limit you to one piece from now on. A small one.”

“You have been doing really well honey.” Harvey looked up at Betty. “He hasn’t had very many sweets lately and he has been eating well and getting a little exercise in.” Harvey squeezed Gus’ hand. “We have taken some baby steps to get healthier. I guess we just didn’t make the changes soon enough, but once we get through this we will do better.”

There was a knock at the door and a young, thin black man in grey scrubs stood in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt folks, I’m Carl and I’m here to transport Gus up to the Cardiac Care Unit.”

Harvey stood and leaned over the bed to kiss Gus. “I’ll be right behind you.” He patted Gus lightly on the chest and straightened up.

“We’ll all go up with you and make sure you’re settled.” Betty smiled at Gus then she and Alice moved out of the young man’s way.

Carl unhooked Gus from the monitor, pulse oximeter and blood pressure cuff. He attached his IV bag to a pole on the bed. Carl moved to the head of the bed. “Okay, here we go.” He started pushing the bed out of the room.

Harvey followed the bed out the door and when the bed was out of the way Betty came over and put her arm around Lexa.

“How are you doing honey?” Betty asked, as they walked out of the room together.

“Worried about Gus, but otherwise I’m okay.”

“He is a stubborn hard ass. It’s going to take more than a little heart attack to bring him down. He will be fine.” Betty assured her.

“I hope you’re right.” Lexa smiled slightly at the woman that looked so much like Clarke, albeit and older version.

They let Harvey, Carl and Gus go on the first elevator and then took the next one.

“Abby is heading over to your place to be there for Clarke. We didn’t know what we would find once we got her and thought it would be best if Abby was there with her…just in case.” Alice said.

“I appreciate that. Clarke is watching Becky and couldn’t come with me so I’m glad her mom is going to go over there.” Lexa knew Clarke would be worried and at least her mother would be there for her to talk to. “I’ll call her soon once we get upstairs.”

 

 

Clarke was in the kitchen getting a glass of water when she saw headlights coming down her lane. She looked at the clock and wondered if it was Lexa returning home. _She hasn’t been gone that long and if it was her returning home is that a good thing or a bad thing?_

Taking her glass with her she carried it to the living room and sat it on the end table then walked out the front door and stood on the porch to see if the vehicle was Lexa’s or not. As the car turned at the bend in the road next to their house she could see that it wasn’t Lexa’s vehicle, but her mother’s. _What is my mother doing here?_ Clarke felt her pulse begin to beat rapidly with anxiety as her mother’s vehicle stopping in the driveway.

“Hello Clarke.” Abby said as she got out of her car and shut the door.

“Mom, is everything okay?” Clarke asked as her mother climbed up the steps and onto the front porch.

“Yes, your grandmothers called. They told me about Gus and thought it would be a good idea for me to come out while we waited for news about how he is doing.”

Clarke sighed in relief and smiled. “Good.” She held the door open for her mother. “When I saw you I was worried something else had happened.”

“I sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I probably should have called you and let you know I was coming out.”

“No it’s fine. I’m glad you’re here.” Clarke led the way into the kitchen. “Can I get you anything? Something to eat or drink?”

“I’m good honey.” Abby sat down at the kitchen table. “Have you heard anything from Lexa?”

Clarke took a seat next to her mother and shook her head. “Nothing yet. Lexa was going to call me when she found something out.”

“Mom and Alice have gone to the hospital to check on Gus. I’m sure we will hear something soon from one of them.”

“I hope so.” Clarke pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and leaned forward onto the table. Her right elbow bent and on the table as her face rested against the palm of her hand. “I hate sitting here and not know what is going on.”

“I know honey, I’m the same way. Why don’t you tell me about your day today? How did your appointment go this morning?”

Clarke filled her mother in on the progress of her pregnancy and what happened at the appointment. She did keep the part about how it was safe for her and Lexa to return to having sex. _Mom doesn’t need to know everything._ Clarke then talked about meeting Sheryl and Beth for lunch, as well as how Becky’s game went. It all helped Clarke to be distracted from whatever was happening to Gus. That is until the phone rang.

“Hi babe.” Clarke said after picking up the phone and noticing the name on the caller ID. “He did?” Clarke met her mother’s eyes. “Okay…yes mom is here…I’m glad that they are there with you.” Clarke paused as she continued to listen to what Lexa was telling her. “Okay…and you will be home soon?” Clarke nodded. “Yes, I’m sure I’ll be up for a while.” Clarke noticed Becky walk into the kitchen and over to Clarke. _The ringing of the phone must have woken her up_. “Okay, I love you too. See you soon.” Clarke ended the call and put her phone back down on the table. “Sweetie, what are you doing up?” She asked Becky.

Becky rubbed her eyes and climbed up into Clarke’s lap. Clarke moved the chair back to allow Becky to have more room.

“I heard the phone.” Becky yawned as she rested her head against Clarke’s shoulder. “Where is Lexa?” Her head lifted slightly as she looked at Abby. “Hi Abby.” She said before she let her head drop back against Clarke.

“Hi Becky.” Abby smiled at the little girl and wanted to pull out her camera and take a picture of Clarke holding her. _They are so cute._

“Lexa went to go check on a sick friend. She will be back later.” Clarke rubbed Becky’s back.

“I hope her friend is okay.” Becky yawned again. “Can I get a drink of water?”

“Yes, you can. There is some bottled water in the refrigerator. You can have one and take it with you back to the bedroom.”

“Okay.” Becky climbed down off of Clarke and went to the refrigerator to get one of the bottles of water. She opened the bottle up and took a drink right away. Putting the cap back on she looked at Clarke. Her lips formed a little pout. “I want to stay up and wait for Lexa.”

Clarke looked to her mother while raising her eyebrows as if to ask her if she should let Becky stay up. Abby only smiled and raised her eyebrows back. Clarke knew that it was going to be up to her to decide. She looked at Becky who stood there, waiting. Her eyes were droopy as if she could fall asleep at any second. “How about this? You go lay down on the couch and try and get more sleep. Then when Lexa gets home you can see her then.”

Becky pulled her lower lip into her mouth and tilted her head. She took a deep breath. “Okay.” She finally said.

_I’m glad that worked_. Clarke stood up and ushered Becky into the living room and over to the couch. She put Becky’s bottle of water on the table next to the couch and grabbed the blanket that laid across the back and covered Becky with it.

“Try to get some more sleep and Lexa will put you back in bed once she gets home.”

“Okay.” Becky mumbled. She was half asleep already as Clarke turned off the lamp in the living room, leaving it in semi darkness.

Clarke returned to the kitchen and sat back down. She notice the big smile covering her mother’s face. “What?”

“She reminds me so much of you when you were her age. You always wanted to stay up and wait for me when I had to work late at the hospital. Only you didn’t give in that easily. Your father had a heck of a time getting you to go back to sleep.”

Clarke remembered some of the temper tantrums she use to have when she wanted her mother when she woke up in the middle of the night. She didn’t understand at the time that her mother had to work sometimes at night and wouldn’t be there to eat dinner and tuck her in when she went to bed.

Clarke laughed at the memory. “I remember not agreeing to go back to bed till I got to talk to you.”

Clarke’s father, in his frustration had called Abby at work that first time to ask Abby what he should do to get Clarke to go back to sleep. Abby had told him to put Clarke on the phone. After she talked with her daughter for a few minutes Clarke calmed down and was able to go back to sleep. Clarke didn’t wake up every night that Abby had to work but when she did the first thing Jake did was dial the hospital number and request to speak to Abby Griffin.

“To be honest I actually looked forward to those calls. I hated working the night shift. I missed you. I missed Jake. The calls in the middle of my shift helped me get through it. It reminded me what I was working so hard for.”

“Dad would let me stay out on the couch till you were able to call back when you were busy. Most of the time I fell back asleep before you called.”

“You’ll get to find out all about what it’s like as a parent.” Abby said. “It will be hard to return back to work. It will be hard to be away from your family, but you do it so you can give them a good life.”

“And you did.” Clarke said, taking her mother’s hand.

“We did our best and I think you’re going to be a great mother.” Abby squeezed Clarke’s hand and let go. “So what did Lexa have to say?”

“Gus did have a heart attack. He has been admitted up into the Cardiac Care Unit. Dr. Brown was the doctor he saw.”

Abby nodded. “I like her. She is very good at what she does.”

Clarke didn’t know the doctor but she was glad that she was good. _If anything happens to him Lexa will be devastated._ “He has some tests ordered and was sent down to the Cath Lab. Lexa and Grandmas are going to wait for him to come back to the room before coming home. If anything changes Lexa will call.”

“Okay, so we wait.” Abby looked around the kitchen. “How about I make some tea and we play some cards?”

“I would really like that.” Clarke stood up and went to the closet where they kept their games. She was glad that her mother had stopped by. It gave them a chance to spend some time together as they waited for Lexa to return home. She decided she would talk with her mother a little more about her experiences as a parent as well as the tests that Lexa told her that Gus was getting. She looked over at Becky before walking back to the table. Becky was asleep on the couch and Clarke smiled. _I knew she would fall asleep as soon as she laid back down._


	11. Chapter 11

Lexa saw that Abby’s car was still parked in front of their house. _Good, she’s still here with Clarke_. She had stayed long enough for Gus to get all the tests done that they were going to do that morning and he was resting comfortably in his room when she left.

Unlocking the backdoor she slipped into the house quietly. The light above the sink provided the only illumination as she placed her keys and cell phone on the counter. Walking as quietly as she could she moved into the living room. Turned on the light in the bathroom provided enough light so she was able to see Abby asleep in the recliner. Clarke laid on the couch with Becky wrapped in her arms. She smiled at the sight of her wife and Becky sleeping next to each other. _I’m glad to see that everyone was able to get some sleep._

Lexa debated leaving both Clarke and Becky on the couch but thought that they would both be more comfortable in bed. Becky liked to squirm so much that she didn’t want her to accidently fall off the couch or kick Clarke in the stomach. She knew the baby was well protected but didn’t want to take that chance. Walking over to the couch she bend down and carefully picked up Becky who was like a limp noodle in her arms as she carried her into the spare bedroom. Putting her down on the bed she covered Becky up with the blankets. She didn’t wake up. _Wow, she must really be tired._ Shaking her head in amazement she walked out into the living room and spotted Clarke sitting up on the couch rubbing her eyes.

“Hey.” Lexa said quietly as she sat down next to her on the couch. “How are you?”

“Okay.” Clarke wrapped an arm around Lexa’s waist and leaned her head on her shoulder. “How is Gus doing?”

“He was resting when I left. They did a lot of tests on him and he was exhausted.” Lexa kissed Clarke’s temple. “Harvey is staying there with him. They will get the test results later in the morning and go from there. Harvey will call and fill me in on what they find out.”

“I’m glad your home. I missed you.” Clarke kissed Lexa’s jaw.

“I missed you too. I’m glad your mother came by and stayed.”

A smile found its way on Clarke’s face. “Me too. She’s staying the night. We ended up talking a lot about babies and being parents while we played cards.” Clarke yawned and buried her face further into Lexa’s neck.

“Ready to go lay down in bed?” Lexa felt Clarke’s nod against her shoulder. “Okay honey, let’s go and I’ll get you all tucked in.”

“You are coming to bed with me right?” Clarke asked as they stood. “What time is it anyway?”

“Two-thirty, and yes I’m coming to bed too. At least for a few hours. I have some things to take care of at the ranger station.”

“Did Becky wake up at all when you carried her to bed? She wanted to wait up for you.” Clarke turned on a light in their bedroom and began undressing.

“She didn’t move at all when I put her to bed. You both were so cute cuddled up next to each other on the couch.” Lexa began undressing as well and put on a tank top and shorts.

“She was at the other end of the couch when I laid down. She must have moved up to me sometime while I was asleep.” Clarke pulled the covers back and climbed into their bed.

Lexa set her alarm and climbed into the bed next to Clarke. She moved over closer to her and laid her hand on Clarke’s hip. “I love you and I hope you can get back to sleep.”

Clarke reached up and stroked Lexa’s cheek. “I love you and I have no doubt I can.” She smiled at her wife. Lexa looked so tired and she hoped she would be able to sleep well for the few short hours she could. “Goodnight Lexa.”

“Goodnight Clarke.” Lexa leaned in for a brief kiss before she rolled over to turn off the lamp. She moved back over into her favorite position. Spooning up against Clarke, her hand finding its way to rest on Clarke’s growing belly.

 

The next morning Lexa had called Indra, Lincoln and Anya to let them know about Gus and to see if they would be agreeable to working some extra hours. Everyone was on board with changing their schedules and Indra was going to come in as soon as she was ready.

Indra wasn’t a fan of staying in the office. She preferred to be out in nature or in the patrol vehicle driving around and making sure everything was in order at the park. Being in the office she would have more contact with the public, and that wasn’t her favorite thing to do. Lexa had offered to be in the office to answer phones, give directions and accept camping payments along with the other clerical duties Gus normally did. Indra would be free to go out on patrol on the extra days she came in.

Lexa then called Harvey and got an update on Gus. There was a small amount of damage to his heart and he was being scheduled for a coronary angioplasty procedure the following day to open up some clogged arteries. Lexa had asked Harvey to let Gus know she would be by later to check on him and that all of his coworkers were thinking about him.

_It’s so weird being here in the office and looking over at his desk and not seeing him here._ Usually the lights were already turned on when she got there, the coffee was already made and she had a bag on her desk with breakfast in it. _I miss him not being here._

Things had been quiet lately. The only minor incident reported had been some campers being too loud the other night. Lincoln was working at the time and he stopped at their campsite and asked them to lower the volume on their radio. They did and there were no further issues. He even stayed there for about an hour talking to them about good fishing areas along the river.

Lexa made some changes on the calendar she had up on her computer screen. A temporary schedule she created. Opening up an e-mail program she sent it to her employees and printed a copy out. Standing up and walked over to Gus’ desk. There was a stack of papers sitting on the corner and she flipped through them to see if any of it was important for right now. Some of it was some statistical information that she had requested Gus to pull for her so she could sent a report to her supervisors next week. She looked at his calendar to see what he had written down for the next few weeks. She was usually on top of everything and didn’t see anything there that she wasn’t aware of.

Lexa looked up as the door to the ranger station opened and Indra walked in. “Indra, thanks for coming in on such short notice.”

“You’re welcome. I was sorry to hear about Gus.” The expression on her face didn’t change from her usual scowl but her tone had been sincere.

“I made some coffee if you’re interested.” Lexa had already had several cups herself. It had been really hard for her to get out of bed that morning. She had been snuggled up against Clarke, pretty much in the same position as when they had fallen asleep. She was nice and warm and Clarke felt so good. It was hard to tear herself away but duty calls.

Indra nodded and walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. She sat down on a chair in front of Gus’ desk. “Do we know how long Gus will be off of work?”

“No, not yet.” Lexa refilled her coffee cup and sat down. “I have the schedule created for two weeks. I figure Gus will be told soon how long he is going to be off. If it’s longer than that we will have to figure something out.”

“I don’t mind the overtime.”

“The overtime is fine for right now but it’s not a long term solution. He could be off work for three months so we will have to see. A few weeks I think we would be fine but not three months.” Lexa took a drink of her coffee. “He is going to have surgery tomorrow. An angioplasty to clean out some arteries. They might put some stents in.”

“My mother had that done. She didn’t have a heart attack but she did have some clogged arteries that put her at greater risk. She only had to stay in the hospital overnight.”

“I hope to find out more when I go to the hospital later. See how long they are going to keep him.”

“If he is still in the hospital tomorrow I will go by and see him. When my mother had her procedure done he left me a nice card so it’s the least I could do.”

Lexa nodded and leaned back in her chair. “I’m going to bring in a card tomorrow so that everyone can sign it over the weekend. So he knows we are all thinking about him.”

“That would be nice. I know he is always there for us whenever anything happens to us or our families.” Indra rose and put the rest of her coffee into a portable cup. “I’m going to head out. Talk to you later.”

Lexa picked up a pen and tapped it on the desk. “Okay, I’ll be here if you need anything.” She watched as Indra walked out of the office. She knew that she wouldn’t hear from her stoic coworker for the rest of the shift unless something was a huge emergency. Picking up the papers on Gus’ desk she went over back to her computer. _I might as well get that report started._

 

Clarke rubbed the back of her neck as she typed out a message on her phone to Lexa. “How is your day going?” She hit send as she stood up and put a file in a filing cabinet and then pulled out another one that she needed. She had been sitting in front of the computer for most of the day and her back was starting to get stiff. _I really should go to the gym and do some walking on the treadmill. I feel like such a blob._ Slamming the filing cabinet drawer shut she walked back to her desk just as her phone beeped, alerting her to a text message.

“Kind of busy people going in and out of the office for different things. I’ve been trying to work on a report. Other than that it has been quiet. Becky wake up okay this morning? How are you? I didn’t want to get up and leave this morning. I was very comfortable wrapped around you.”

Clarke took a drink of water as she read the message. Putting down her empty glass she smiled as she worked on her reply. “Yes, she was a little sad that she didn’t get to see you last night but mom made pancakes and that perked her up. When I dropped her off Vesta said to tell you thank you.” _To be that age again and having summers off. I really miss those days._ “I’m fine hon, it’s been pretty quiet around here today. I missed waking up next to you”

After sending her last message Clarke stood up. Picking up her glass she headed towards the kitchen to get a refill of water. She smiled and nodded hello to some of coworkers that she met on the way. Entering the living area she spotted Raven sitting at one of the tables. A book open on the table in front of her. “Hey Raven.”

Raven looked up from her book and rolled her shoulders. “Hi Clarke.”

Clarke refilled her water glass in the kitchen and grabbing a banana out of a bowl she walked back over to Raven and sat down. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”

Raven placed a bookmark between the pages of her book. Closing the book she gave it a little shove. It skidded across the table. “Okay I guess.”

Clarke’s brows moved closer together and she nodded towards the book. “Am I disturbing you?”

“What?” Raven looked at the book and shook her head. “No.”

“The book that bad?” Clarke asked as she began peeling her banana.

“No, the book is fine and no you’re not bother me. I’m in a bad mood I guess.” Raven leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Clarke took a bite of her banana and waited to see if Raven wanted to talk. With her work schedule and the calls the other firefighters went out on she hadn’t seen much of her coworkers lately.

Raven looked at Clarke and tried to decide if she should say anything. Clarke was a good friend and she missed seeing her at work. “Yeah okay. Talking that would be great.” Raven sighed as she looked up at the ceiling, trying to decide where to start. “It’s Wick and I. We haven’t been getting along lately.” She looked back at Clarke. “I don’t really know what is going on with him. All we seem to do is fight.”

“About what?” This was a surprise to Clarke. Last she heard was that things were going well for the couple. Wick was back on duty, which he had worked hard to do and Raven was getting along well with his family.

“Everything. He seems so touchy lately and he takes everything I say the wrong way. I’ve been walking on egg shells around him and you know that is so not me.”

“I know.” Clarke smiled briefly. “Is he still seeing his therapist?”

Raven shook his head. “No, he went to the required sessions, and maybe one or two after that and stopped. He was doing so well too. Eating right and working out. He wanted to be able to get certified for the department so bad but now he isn’t taking care of himself. He hasn’t been at the gym for at least a month. I’ve tried to get him to go workout with me but all he does when he is home now is sit in front of the TV. It’s like once he got his clearance he decided to not to make the effort anymore. He has been drinking a lot more lately too.”

Clarke shook her head. This didn’t sound like Wick. “I’m sure you have asked him what was going on.”

Raven snorted at the question. “Several times. He just says nothing’s going on and if I pursue it he yells at me and calls me a stupid bitch.”

Clarke’s eyes widened. “He hasn’t!” Clarke shook her head in disbelief. “He didn’t behave like that before the explosion.”

“You and I both know he could be a smart ass but nothing like what he has been doing lately.” Raven shrugged. “He seemed okay at first, his normal self once he recovered. He passed his physical and psych evaluation. Things were fine…at least for a little while. Now he seems angry all the time. No just angry, like he goes into a rage. Throwing things and leaving holes in the wall type of thing. I don’t know who he is anymore.”

Clarke let out a slow breath _. That is not good. Not good at all._ “So all this has happened over the last month or so?” Clarke asked as she finished her banana. She hadn’t spoken to Wick much since he came back. If she saw him in the hallway she would say hello. She hadn’t heard any of the other firefighters mention anything about any problems in the field.

“Yeah, more or less.”

Clarke reached over and put her hand on Raven’s forearm. “Maybe he is just going through a rough patch and is still trying to adjust to everything.” She took a deep breath, thinking about some other possibilities. “I’m hoping it’s just a rough patch and if this continues I’m going to be very concerned. No matter what it is though it doesn’t justify his behavior and I’m sorry that you’re going through this. Wick yelling at you, throwing things and all that is not right.”

Raven nodded, her jaw clenching. “Just not me though that’s seeing a change. The other day he went out on a call with Octavia and Monte. Wick was driving the ambulance and according to both Octavia and Monte, Wick wasn’t driving very safe. Weaving in and out of traffic. Yelling at the people in cars who were not getting out of the way. Laying on the horn. To a certain extend we all do that. We get frustrated when going lights and siren people don’t get out of the way, but this call wasn’t a code three call. There was no reason for him to be driving like that. He almost side swiped a fucking car. When they stopped Monte made a comment about it and Wick pinned him up against the ambulance and told him to shut the fuck up.”

Clarke hadn’t heard about that. “Did Monte and Octavia talk to Marcus about that?” She heard her phone buzz and it was probably Lexa. It was going to have to wait.

“Yes. Monte didn’t want to say anything at first but Octavia told him that he either could go in with her or she was going by herself. Marcus brought Wick into the office and talked to him. He told Marcus that they were exaggerating. Marcus ended up given a verbal warning and suggested he go back to counseling, which pissed him off. Now he doesn’t want to work with either of them because he said they were trying to make him look bad.”

“Sounds like he does need some type of help Raven. Somethings going on with him.”

“I know. I’m afraid he is going to hurt someone.” Raven held up her hand and then let them drop. “I’ve tried talking him into getting counseling or going to see his primary physician because something is wrong, but he says he’s fine and things we are all worrying too much.” She shook her head. “I’m understanding to a certain point. I’m trying not to get too upset because I know what he has been through. This last year has been awful for him. I haven’t seen him act anything like this before. I just know if it continues I can’t be around him anymore. I’m not going to put up with it.”

“You shouldn’t. Look, I care about the both of you and I don’t know what is going on with him. I think he needs help and I hope he gets it for his sake. You my friend, need to look after yourself and do what you need to do for you.”

“Don’t worry, I will Clarke.” Raven smiled and picked up her book. “I miss you being around and talking to you. You should come out of that office more.”

Clarke gave a short laugh. “I know, I’ve missed all of you too. I don’t get to see you all as much as I would like.”

“We need to get together more after work then. At least we get to hang out at the annual banquet coming up. That should be fun.” Wick was attending it with her as far as she knew but he could always change his mind.

“Yeah, that will be nice. The food is always good and the games are usually fun. No drinking for me this year though.” Clarke patted her belly. “Also I don’t think I will be able to stay up till two in the morning like I did last year.”

“I’ll have a drink for you then and one for Lexa because I know she isn’t much of a drinker.” Raven laughed. “Might be an early night for me too.”

“We can always give you a lift home if you need it.” Clarke offered.

“Thanks, I might.” Raven tilted her head towards Clarke’s stomach. “How is your pregnancy going?”

Clarke updated Raven on the progress of her pregnancy and they talked a little bit more about the other things going on in their lives.

“I really missed talking to you. I’m glad things are going so well.” Raven’s chair squeaked when she pushed it back from the table and stood up. “Thanks for the talk.”

Clarke stood up and opened her arms to give Raven a hug. “You hang in there and if you need to talk about anything my office door is always open. Come see me.”

“Thanks, I might do that. Especially when it’s time to wash the trucks.” A big smile flashed across Raven’s face. “See you later Clarke.”

“Later Raven.”

Clarke watched as Raven walked towards the truck bay. She was worried about her and how whatever was going on with Wick was affecting their relationship and how it could potentially affect the department. She hoped her friend was going to be okay and promised herself that she would check in with her more often.

Picking up her glass of water she headed back towards her office. _Back to the paperwork_. Once seated back at her desk she pulling out her cell phone and read Lexa’s message. She laughed and composed a response. _One nice thing about her sitting in the office at least I get to text with her._ Clarke was looking forward to the evening. She knew that Lexa was going to swing by the hospital but other than that they didn’t have any plans. She was looking forward to a nice quiet evening at home.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little longer chapter but I know you won't mind.
> 
> I know it seems like I put these characters through a lot and I do. :)

 

Lexa pulled her truck into the parking lot of the community center. With Gus off of work for the rest of the month she, along with the other rangers had been working overtime, but was able to still get the time off to attend the fire department party with Clarke. She also managed to make sure Lincoln had the night off.

Lexa thought about when they went last year. Clarke had done some heavy drinking with her coworkers at the banquet and she had woken up the next morning and stumbled to the bathroom, where she had deposited the contents of her stomach in the toilet. Lexa had heard her moaning and the sounds of vomiting. She had gone into the bathroom and tried to be there for her wife even though the smell nearly did her in. After that night Clarke has sworn off drinking that much again and Clarke hadn’t, even when she occasionally went out with her coworkers. Tonight neither one of them planned to drink. For Lexa it was because she wasn’t much of a drinker and Clarke because of her pregnancy.

The meal was being catered by a local restaurant. The family was originally from Albania and had opened the restaurant twenty-five years ago. Their business had flourished and the family was heavily involved in the community. They had catered the fire department party for the last five years. Like last year Clarke ordered the chicken and Lexa ordered the prime rib, which they would then share.

After Lexa parked the truck she came around to Clarke’s side of the vehicle and took her hand as they walked towards the front door of the community center. Lexa held open the door for her wife as they went in. Lexa observed that like last year the center was decorated in red, white, blue and the occasional yellow. Place settings were already on the round tables ready for dinner to be served. Clarke’s coworkers sat at the tables or stood in groups, the largest group surrounded the bar.

Lexa rubbed Clarke’s lower back. “Where would you like to sit hon?”

Clarke looked around the room and spotted Octavia and Lincoln sitting with Raven and Wick. They were near the low stage where the awards would be handed out. Octavia waved at her. “Let’s go sit with Raven and Octavia.”

Lexa’s hand remain on Clarke’s lower back as they made their way across the room. Due to work she hadn’t seen much of Clarke this past week. She missed being around her wife and she was constantly wanting to touch her.

“Hey, we saved you two some seats.” Octavia said as she jumped up from her chair and ran over to give Clarke and Lexa hugs. As she held onto Lexa she whispered into her ear. “Thanks for making sure Lincoln could come with me tonight.”

“You’re welcome Octavia.” Lexa smiled at her then looked at Lincoln. “Anya was happy to do it. She has been enjoying the overtime.”

“She has plans on going on a cruise in a couple of months.” Lincoln said. He smiled at Octavia as she sat back down next to him. “She’s happy to be able to have a little bit more spending money on her trip.”

Lexa held out the chair for Clarke as she sat down. “A cruise sounds nice but I’m thinking right now I would have some serious issues with motion sickness.” Clarke imagined herself spending all her time on the cruise either lying down or hovering over the toilet. _Or puking over the railing into the water_. _Yes, a cruise right now doesn’t sound like a lot of fun._

Lexa sat down next to Clarke and took her hand. “We should do that, like on our fifth or tenth wedding anniversary.”

Clarke squeezed the hand she was holding. “I would love to do that with you someday.” She glanced down at her stomach. “Just not when I’m pregnant.”

“You won’t be pregnant forever and I just have to say for a pregnant chick you look awesome.”

Clarke smiled at Octavia and felt a little heat in her cheeks. “Thanks O.”

“You really should go on a cruise at least once.” Raven said. “A nice Caribbean cruise, do some swimming in the ocean. I would…”

“I’m going to go get another drink.” Wick stood up abruptly and went to the bar, leaving everyone watching his retreating back.

Raven watched him go with a slight frown on her face. Meeting her friend’s concerned looks she rolled her eyes. “It’s going to be a fun night.”

“If he wants to be a dick let him. We are here to celebrate the past year and have fun. Don’t worry about Kyle. You focus on you and have a good time yourself.” Octavia said.

“I plan to have a good time tonight. I was just hoping he would cool it with the drinking. He is supposed to be honored tonight and it would be nice if he was able to walk up and get his plaque without falling on his ass.”

Lexa leaned over towards Clarke. An open program in front of her. She pointed to an award title. “Is this the award Wick is up for?”

Clarke pulled her chair closer to Lexa’s and leaned in close to her ear. “Yes, he is getting it because he was injured in the line of duty and worked hard to be able to return to work.” She remembered how last year they honored Jasper for his dedication and sacrifice as well as Wick, who was still recovering from his injuries and his future in the department was unknown at the time. Thankfully there were no serious injuries or deaths in the last year.

Lexa’s gaze flickered over to where Wick stood at the bar. She saw him down a glass of scotch before giving his glass to the bartender for a refill. “From what you have told me it doesn’t seem like he is quite ready to return to work.”

Clarke’s eyebrows lifted slightly as she glanced over at Wick. “He _has_ been having a lot of problems lately.” She said quietly before moving her chair back into her original spot as Chief Kane walked up to the podium.

“I would like to welcome everyone to our annual banquet. If you will look at your programs on the table you will see that dinner once again has been provided by Andrew and Rosemary from the Family Restaurant. This year we have entertainment provided by Laughing with Me, a local improv group. After their performance we will then move onto the awards followed by games and socializing.”

Wick returned to the table as Marcus began the banquet by saying grace. Once he finished the staff from the Family Restaurant started to serve. First they were served soup followed by a salad. Dinner rolls with butter were already on the table. As they ate Clarke answered Raven and Octavia’s questions about how the training curriculum was going.

“I think I’m full already just from the soup and salad.” Lexa stretched her arm out and placed her hand on Clarke’s back. Clarke had worn her hair up so when Lexa’s hand moved up she was able to stroke the soft skin on the back of Clarke’s neck.

“The portions were bigger this year.” Clarke said a quiet thank you to the wait staff that removed her salad plate. “I for one can’t wait to try a piece of that cake over there.”

Clarke was referring to a large cake that sat on a table near the community center’s kitchen doorway. Last year they had ice cream for dessert. This year Rosemary made a huge cake that had a big red fire engine decorated in frosting on the top.

“Yeah it looks really good.” Raven smiled her thanks to a male waiter who removed her salad plate.

“Did you have to smile at him like that?” Wick hissed at Raven as the waiter walked away.

“Like what?” Raven’s eyebrows drew together as she looked from the waiter to Wick in confusion.

“You know like what.” Wick glared at Raven as he took a drink from his glass.

Raven returned his glare. “No Kyle, I don’t know.”

“Fine, we’ll talk about it later.” Kyle sat his glass down with more force than necessary.

“She didn’t do anything wrong.” Octavia leaned forward so she could see past Raven and get a good view of Wick. “Chill out.”

“Mind your own fucking business.” Wick snapped.

“Don’t be talking to my wife like that or you and I are going to have a problem.” Lincoln said softly, but the look he gave Wick was anything but gentle.

Wick’s jaw clenched but he didn’t say anything. The alcohol was already making him feel all fuzzy and even if he wasn’t almost drunk, he knew he couldn’t take on Lincoln. The big man had a lot more muscle than he did so he kept his mouth shut.

“They are serving the main course now so how about we just try and enjoy the rest of dinner okay?” Clarke’s eyebrows rose as she looked around at everyone at the table to see if they were all in agreement. She was met with nods and a few smiles. She felt Lexa pick up her hand and she squeezed her hand gently, glad to feel the connection with her wife during the tense moment at the table.

Plates were placed before Clarke and Lexa and they began the process of cutting their meat in half and exchanging portions so they both had some chicken and prime rib.

“Hey wait.” Wick said to the waiter after his plate with prime rib was sat down in front of him. “Fuck.” He muttered as the waiter walked away to get more plates to serve.

“What’s wrong?” Raven asked looking at Wick’s plate.

“I can’t eat this shit.” Wick said as he pointed to his plate.

“Why not?” Raven looked at Wick’s prime rib, it looked good to her.

“They got it too well done.” Wick complained. “I don’t like it like that.”

“Well let’s trade.” Raven was given a piece of prime rib that was rarer than she preferred. “I prefer mine a little more done than what I got here.”

“Okay, thanks.” Wick then smiled at Raven, which was something that had been scarce lately.

They exchanged plates and now they were both happier. Wick busied himself with eating and didn’t say anything for the rest of dinner. Raven, Octavia and Clarke talked about fire department politics while Lexa and Lincoln listened politely.

Once dinner was over and the cake was being served the improve group took the stage and began their performance. Clarke had to stop eating her cake because she was laughing so hard she thought she would choke. More than once Lexa had looked at her with concern and asked if she was okay while rubbing her back. She set her cake aside so she could take the rest of it home. However, she continued laughing so hard that she couldn’t breathe and she felt like she was going to pee her pants.

Touching Lexa’s arm Clarke leaned over and said loud enough for her to hear. “I need to go to the rest room. Be right back.”

“I’ll go with you.” Lexa stood with Clarke and followed her as they maneuvered through the other tables. “Are you okay?” Lexa asked once they were in the bathroom.

“I’m fine hon.” Clarke made her way to a bathroom stall and shut the door. She heard Lexa close the stall door next to her. Clarke untucked her dress blues shirt, which was a size larger than what she normally wore. It was already becoming tight around her stomach, and eating as much food as she just did didn’t help.

Once she was done inside the bathroom stall she went to the sink to wash her hands. Lexa, who had finished first had already washed her hands and was waiting for her.

“Seems like all I have to do is pee all the time.” Clarke chuckled as she pushed the soap dispenser and began washing her hands. Once finished she took the paper towel that Lexa held out to her. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Lexa waited till Clarke had dried her hands before wrapping her arms around her waist from behind. “Having a good time?”

Clarke’s soft smile was reflected back at them in the mirror. “Yes, how about you?”

“I’m happy as long as I’m around you. I’ve missed you.” Lexa kissed the side of Clarke’s neck and gently rubbed Clarke’s slightly bulging belly. “I can’t wait for this overtime to be done and Gus to be back at work.”

“I miss you too honey.” Clarke turned around in Lexa’s arms and wrapped her arms around her neck. “It won’t last forever though and thankfully Gus should be able to go back to work.”

“I’m grateful for that and he wants to return to work as soon as possible. He has been doing some walking but mostly taking it easy.” Lexa smiled. “He is hating the diet they got him on.”

They looked as the door came open and Raven walked in. She stopped when she spotted them standing in front of the sinks holding onto each other. “Making out in the bathroom? Kinky.”

“We are not making out.” Clarke dropped her arms from around Lexa’s neck and instead took her hand. “We are just talking. It’s kind of noisy out there.”

“It is.” Raven agreed. “But they are funny as hell.”

“So how are you doing? Wick behaving himself?” Clarke asked.

Raven shrugged and looked off to the left before her gaze went back at Clarke. “I’m doing okay. Nothing that a few drinks haven’t helped. Kyle, he seems to be in a better mood so it’s all good.”

“Good.” Clarke nodded but she didn’t exactly believe that it was going as well as Raven said it was but standing in the bathroom wasn’t the best place to get into a conversation about it.

Clarke had been watching them throughout the night. While Wick didn’t say too much once he started eating dinner and during the comedy group, he sat in his seat with his arm crossed, a scowl on his face. His posture only changing when he took a sip of whatever he was drinking, which he constantly refilled. They didn’t appear to be talking with each other or showing the other one affection.

“Well we will let you take care of what you need to.” Clarke tugged on Lexa’s hand as she walked to the door. “Hang out with us later after the awards ceremony.”

“Absolutely.” Raven’s smile was genuine. “We can all play Cards against Humanity.”

 

Clarke and Lexa retook their seats just as the entertainers were finishing up. Clarke smiled as she looked at Lincoln and Octavia sitting close and holding hands. Wick, however was looking angrily in the direction of the bathroom.

“Hey Kyle, you doing okay?” Clarke asked. She didn’t know how he would respond but she prepared herself for a less than friendly reaction.

Wick jumped slightly as his eyes moved from the direction of the bathroom to Clarke. “What?”

“I asked if you’re doing okay. Are you having a good time?”

“Oh yeah, it’s a blast.” Wick rolled his eyes as he picked up his glass and took a drink. He slammed the glass back down and laughed. “I should know all about that, now shouldn’t I?”

Clarke glanced at Lexa and put her hand on her wife’s thigh. She was going to say something more, hopefully something he would take as encouraging, but Wick stood up and headed towards the bar. She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. “This is turning out to be so much fun.”

Lexa put her arm around Clarke and leaned over till her chin was resting on Clarke’s shoulder. “We don’t have to stay. We can leave after the awards ceremony if you want?”

Clarke squeezed Lexa’s thigh and rested her head against Lexa’s. “I know, but I would like to stay. I’ve missed being around my coworkers. Not necessarily Wick, but Octavia, Raven and Bellamy for sure.” She sighed. “I just wish there was something I could do to help Raven and Wick out.”

“I love that you want to help them, but sometimes there are things that you can’t fix Clarke.”

“I know.” Clarke said. With a final squeeze to Lexa’s thigh she straightened up in her seat.

Raven slid into her chair, oblivious to Wick’s glare just as Marcus and the department captains moved to the front of the room. He stood in the center of the six captains.

Marcus stood in front of a podium with a sheet of paper in his hands. “Let’s give a round of applause to Rosemary and Andrew for once again providing us and excellent meal tonight and for the entertainment provided by Laughing with Me.” He waited till the applause died down before he spoke again. “Now we move onto the awards portion of the night but first I want to thank each and every one of you for your time and dedication to the work that we do. It can be a tough and stressful job but we provide an important service to our community and we save lives. I would also like to thank the families of the department personnel who have to put up with the crazy hours that we work and go without seeing their loved ones for long periods of time. Remember we are a family, and tonight we honor some members of our family.”

Marcus began reading the names on the sheet of paper he held. All new members came forward and got certificates. They shook hands with all the captains and Marcus. Then they paused by an American flag, where a picture was taken. Marcus moved on to announce the Fire Fighter of the Year, the Emergency Medical Person of the Year, and several other awards till they came to the last one which Wick was getting.

“Last but certainly not least I would like to call Kyle Wick forward.” Marcus waited till Kyle stood up and walked to the left of Marcus, next to the first captain in line. “I’m pleased to award you this plaque recognizing your strength and determination in returning to work after the devastating injuries you sustained while performing your duties. Thank you Kyle for your service.”

Kyle shook hands with three of the captains before shaking Marcus’ hand and taking his plaque. He then shook the three remaining captain’s hands, paused for his picture. He smiled graciously for the photograph and nodded as everyone clapped for him. Walking back to his seat he leaned down and kissed Raven on the cheek, who appeared to be surprised at the display of affection.

Marcus cleared his throat. “That concludes the awards ceremony. I would like to once again thank everyone for coming. Stay, play some games or visit. The bar as you know is open.”

“Glad that is over with.” Wick muttered.

“Why? You should be proud of yourself for what you’ve accomplished. You worked really hard baby and it was nice that the department recognized it.” Raven went to touch his shoulder but he pulled away from her. She quickly brought her hand back, eyes flashed briefly with the hurt and confusion his action caused after the small amount of affection he had just shown her. _Was that all for show?_

“I agree, you really kicked ass.” Octavia said. “Now you can put your plaque on your wall and show it off.”

“Fuck that.” Wick directed an icy glare at Octavia. “Fuck you for thinking this means anything to me.”

Lincoln had enough of Wick as he moved his chair back from the table. “I advise you to watch your attitude and your mouth.”

“Or you’ll do what?” Wick’s eyebrows rose in challenge.

“I’ll adjust it for you.” Lincoln’s voice was low and there was a hard edge to it.

Octavia put her hand on Lincoln’s arm. “Honey I love you but I can fight my own battles.” She turned to look at Wick. “If I have to I will be the one kicking your ass so knock your shit off.”

“Octavia you think…” Wick began but stopped as Raven moved in the way so he couldn’t see Octavia.

“Leave her alone.” Raven shook her head when Wick started to speak. She kept on talking. “You’ve been a big asshole since you got here. Actually long before you got here. I know you’ve been through a lot, and I’ve stood by you through it but don’t talk to my friends like that.”

Wick rolled his eyes and shrugged. “If you don’t like it kiss my ass.”

“Pick a spot because you’re all ass.” Raven said angrily as she stood up and walked away from the table.

Clarke and Octavia both looked at Raven as she retreated and then looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

“Honey, I’ll be right back.” Clarke placed her hand on Lexa’s shoulders as she stood up.

“I’ll be here.” Lexa replied as she looked up at her wife. She knew where she was heading.

“Me too.” Octavia rose, kissing the top of Lincoln’s bald head. “Asshole.” She mumbled as she walked by Wick.

Lexa watched as the two woman went after their friend. That left both her and Lincoln sitting at the table with Wick. Her face was devoid of emotion as she stared at the young man who was causing a lot of trouble that night at their table.

Wick looked over the rim of his glass as he took a drink from his seemingly bottomless glass. He knew he was being a jerk, but right now he didn’t care. “I think I’ll just go sit at the bar.”

“Sitting somewhere else would be a good start.” Lexa tilted her head towards his glass. “You might also want to cut back on that.”

Wick had a smart ass reply ready to go but he held it back. With a smile he stood up. “Excuse me.” He walked away and headed towards the bar.

“What a jackass.” Lincoln said, turning towards his boss.

“He certainly knows how to clear a table.” Lexa picked up her glass of water and took a drink.

“I think I’ll see if Octavia wants to go after she gets done talking with Raven. This party is kind of over I think.”

Lexa nodded her agreement. “I know Clarke wanted to stay earlier but maybe she has changed her mind.”

“You could always come over to our place. We could watch some movies, play some games. Take Raven and leave her fucked up boyfriend here.”

“We would really like that and we should do that sometime.” Lexa said as she looked over her shoulder to see if she could see where Clarke followed Raven to. _Probably the bathroom_. “I think I would just like to get my wife and go home. Neither one of us is getting a lot of rest lately.”

“Gus will be back to work soon so we both will have more normal schedules.” A smile spread across Lincoln’s face. “Though in about five or so more months you two will be losing sleep for a completely different reason.”

Lexa returned Lincoln’s smile as she thought about the baby they were having. “Yes, but then if we are woken up in the middle of the night we will have a baby to cuddle with and take care of.” _I can’t wait_. She reached up and brushed a few strands of hair back behind her ear. “According to Abby, Clarke’s mother, we will never sleep soundly again. No matter how old our kids will be we will always be worried.”

“And you will get a bunch of gray hair.” Lincoln rubbed his hand across his bald head. “Something I don’t have to worry about.”

“Do you and Octavia want to have kids someday?”

“We have talked about it.” Lincoln admitted. “If we do have children we are going to adopt. Octavia wants to give a home to children that are already born, and for whatever reason doesn’t have any family but needs one. Age, gender, race or sexual orientation doesn’t matter.”

“That is a great idea Lincoln. When do you think you two will start that process?”

“In about a year or so. We are looking at what we will need to do to start it.” Lincoln looked past Lexa’s shoulder as he saw Raven, Octavia and Clarke come out of the bathroom. “They’re back.”

Lexa turned and watched as Raven went up to Wick at the bar. She could see that they were exchanging some words. Both Clarke and Octavia had stopped their return to the table and were watching as it seemed the conversation between Wick and Raven was getting heated.

“This doesn’t look good.” Lexa could see that Raven and Wick were drawing some attention to themselves.

“You want to break up with me? You don’t get to decide that shit.” Wick set his glass down and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I told you I’m done. I’m not putting up with this anymore. I’m going to the house and getting my stuff and going to stay at a friend’s house. You’re going to have to find a ride home.” Raven turned to leave but was stopped by a hand that grabbed her hair and pulled her back.

“Like hell you are.” Wick yanked Raven’s head back. “You’re not leaving me.” The fingers of Wick’s free hand closed around Raven’s neck.

Clarke moved forward with Octavia at her side. “Hey, let her go!” Clarke grabbed Wick’s hand that was around Raven’s neck as she tried to pry his fingers away.

“You’re hurting her asshole. Leave her alone.” Using a chair Octavia climbed up so she could put Wick in a head lock to try and get him to let go.”

“Get the fuck off me bitch.” Wick still had ahold of Raven neck. Both of Raven’s hands and Clarke’s were trying to pry his hands off.

Those at the bar and at the tables in the immediate area began to yell at Wick. Someone was yelling for Chief Kane and the bartender was on the phone trying to call the police.

“Clarke!” Lexa’s heart was beating at an increased rate as she and Lincoln tried to run towards the bar. Those people that were in her way she shoved.

“Damn it Wick, your killing her.” Clarke glared at Wick as she tried to get her fingers around his thumb to break his grip.

Octavia was pounding on Wick’s back and head as he moved to try and dislodge her from his back. Letting go of Raven’s hair Wick reached back and grabbed Octavia by the head and while pulling and twisting he knocked her off his back. Octavia felt to the floor in a heap. With his free hand he backhanded Raven in the face while letting go over her neck. “Back off.” With as much strength as he had he shoved Clarke away from him. Clarke fell backwards. She twisted and turned and tried to avoid tripping over Octavia who was still lying on the floor. Clarke was unable to maintain her balance and fell face first onto a table that tipped over onto her spilling plates and glasses on top of her.

“Clarke!” Lexa’s eyes were wide as knelt down where Clarke was lying on the floor. “Clarke are you okay? Talk to me.” Panic gripped her heart.

“Lexa?” Clarke reached out for her wife as several of her coworkers went down on their knees beside her.

“I’m right here Clarke.” Lexa took a hold of Clarke’s hand. Her eyes traveling over her wife as she tried to see how bad she was injured. Lexa’s own heart was beating wildly and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“Don’t move Clarke. We need to check you out.” Bellamy said. He held Clarke’s head in place as Monty removed the debris on and around Clarke’s body.

Lexa was completely unaware of what was going on around her. Her focus was on Clarke and making sure that she was okay. She didn’t really hear the questions that Monty was asking. She didn’t know that Lincoln was down on the floor holding Octavia while other paramedics were checking on her and Raven, nor that Wick was being angrily held by several of his coworkers. She didn’t see the look of regret that flashed across Wick’s face as he took in the destruction his actions caused. Lexa kept her eyes on Clarke’s face. Clarke’s blue eyes stared back at her as she answered Monty’s questions.

“Clarke we are going to take you to the hospital and have them check you out. We need to make sure you and the baby are alright.” Bellamy put a neck brace on Clarke as a precaution.

Clarke’s eyes moved briefly to Bellamy’s and then back to Lexa’s. “Okay.” She didn’t think that she was hurt in anyway but she wanted to make sure nothing happened to the baby. Lexa held on desperately to her hand. Tear filled green eyes stared back at her. Clarke could feel the concern coming off of Lexa in waves and could see Lexa’s throat move as she repeatedly swallowed. “I’m okay hon.” She saw Lexa nod but the fear didn’t leave Lexa’s eyes.

As a stretcher came into the community center Lexa finally released Clarke’s hand and stood as they prepared to put her on it. She finally looked around her. Octavia and Lincoln stood by Raven. Wick sat in a chair, surrounded by his coworkers. They were not letting him leave. Marcus was there and it looked like they were having a serious conversation.

Lexa could feel her anger rise as she looked at Wick sitting there, slumped in his seat. Before she could register what she was doing she was walking toward him. Teeth barred and her hands clenched but before she could reach him both Lincoln and Octavia intercepted her, each taking an arm and steering her away.

“What are you guys doing?” Lexa pulled her arms free.

“I want to kick his ass too but Clarke needs you.” Octavia tilted her head towards a police officer who was now talking to Wick. “She doesn’t need to worry about bailing your ass out of jail.”

Lexa ran her fingers through her hair in frustration as she watched the police officer put Wick in handcuffs. “I want to more than kick his ass. I want to shoot his ass and send him off the side of a cliff just like Finn. If anything happens to Clarke or our baby…” _The last person who hurt me and threatened my family ended up dead. He will wish he was dead for hurting what is mine._

Lincoln put his hand on Lexa’s shoulder. “They are getting ready to take Clarke to the hospital. You need to go and be with her now.”

Lexa let out a slow even breath as she checked on Clarke. They were getting ready to go and she needed to be there for Clarke. She was still pissed off but some of her anger was fading away replaced by concern for the health of her wife and their unborn child. She didn’t know for sure what she would have done if she had gotten a hold of Wick, but she was pretty sure whatever she didn’t wasn’t going to help anything so she was grateful for Octavia and Lincoln for that.

Lexa sighed as she closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down more before she went back over to Clarke. I need to keep my head and be strong for Clarke. “Okay.” Lexa opened her eyes.

“You good?” Lincoln asked.

“I’m good.” Lexa reached out and shook Lincoln’s hand. “Are you okay?” She asked Octavia.

“My butt hurts a little bit where I landed on it but I’m fine.” Octavia rubbed the body part in question. “We’ll follow you to the hospital.”

Raven came over and hugged Octavia. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine. Are you?” Octavia asked.

“I’m going to the hospital to get my neck checked out. Something about delayed swelling. Can I get a ride with you?”

“Absolutely.” Octavia turned back to Lexa. “We will be right behind you.”

“Okay.” Lexa moved to return to her wife’s side as they started to move the stretcher through the tables.

“I was looking for you.” Clarke reached for Lexa’s hand. “Where were you?”

“I was talking with Lincoln and Octavia. They were trying to keep me from doing something stupid.” Lexa replied sheepishly.

“I’m glad they did.” Clarke let go of Lexa’s hand as she was loaded up into the ambulance. When Lexa climbed inside with her and sat down she took her hand again. “He isn’t worth it.”

“You are worth it.” Lexa held Clarke’s hand to her lips and place a kiss on the back of it.

“Octavia got a few good shots in.” Clarke smiled briefly. “I probably shouldn’t have gotten involved like that but he was hurting my friend. Now he has to live with the consequences of his actions.”

Clarke reacted instinctively to try and help her friend who was having the life choked out of her. She herself couldn’t believe that Wick would do something like that but he obviously was capable of that type of violence. She hoped that violence didn’t have consequences for her and Lexa.

“I understand, and we can talk about that more later. I just want to make sure you and the baby are fine.” _Be strong now, fall apart later if they’re not_.

Further conversation was impossible as the siren sounded as they made their way to the hospital. Clarke continued to hold onto Lexa’s hand and for what seemed like the thousandth time she hoped everything was okay and her fall hadn’t harmed the baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the sounds of it the guy who played Wick was a real jerk and he got fired so I wanted him out of the story. I'll make sure Raven finds someone nice.
> 
> What happened at the banquet wasn't to farfetched. I took it further than the real life event but something similar did happen during a fire department's annual banquet. 
> 
> Sorry for lack of updates. Life has been a little challenging lately. I do try and write every day, but I haven't been writing as many words a day as I used to.


	13. Chapter 13

Lexa didn’t leave Clarke’s side as they were driven quickly to the hospital. She held Clarke’s hand and kept her eyes focused on her wife as the paramedics from a different department, who were providing mutual aid assistance due to Clarke’s department party monitored Clarke’s condition. She had cringed as the paramedic stuck a needle into Clarke’s hand to get an IV started and the noise from the siren was giving her a headache.

Clarke could see the worried look on Lexa’s face and she hated her part in putting it there. She had simply reacted to a friend being in trouble and did what she felt she had to do at the time. “Lexa it will be okay.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Lexa said. She tried to smile but it didn’t come off as encouraging as she had wanted it to. _Just be alright. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you._

“I’ll get everything checked out and then we can go home. This is just a precaution. I didn’t fall hard.” _I’m not worried…_

Lexa slowly nodded as she squeezed Clarke’s hand. “I know, everything will be fine.” _God I hope so._

Lexa quickly moved along with the gurney inside the hospital and into an exam room, brushing off the attempts of the receptionist to get her to stop and provide information about Clarke and the circumstanced for their visit. “I will talk to you when I know she is going to be alright.” She had seen the receptionist throw her hands up in the air and walk away. Lexa didn’t have time to think about if she had been rude or not. _I don’t really care, I’m not leave Clarke’s side till I know what is going on and she is safe. They can come find me later and get the information._

Lexa never moved far from her wife, even when she had to step aside to let a doctor or nurse come in and exam Clarke or check her vitals. The only thing that mattered to her in the moment was that Clarke and the baby were okay. The anger that she felt about the situation was just under the surface, just under her control as she watched all the people coming in and out of the exam room asking what happened as they exposed different parts of Clarke’s body to be examined _. I just want someone to tell me if everything is going to be okay or not._ Meanwhile amongst all the commotion she stood next to Clarke, holding her hand or brushing her hair back as she helped Clarke supply the answers to the many questions that were sent their way by the medical staff and the receptionist who came into the room to get Clarke admitted to the ER.

Clarke let out a long sigh once she and Lexa were left alone in the room. It had been a whirlwind of activity since the moment Wick had grabbed Raven and for a few minutes Clarke was going to be able to enjoy a moment of not being questioned or poked and prodded. “Why don’t you pull up a chair and sit down?” Clarke suggested, seeing the ridged way that Lexa was standing and how tense her muscles appeared. “It could be awhile yet.”

Lexa extended her leg and hooked her foot on the stool and pulled it towards herself. She didn’t want to let go of Clarke’s hand. As she sat down she noticed the smile of amusement on Clarke’s face. “Am I hovering too much?”

Clarke shook her head. “No, I’m glad you’re right here with me.” Clarke’s thumb slowly moved across the back of Lexa’s hand. “It’s time consuming but I’d rather come in and make sure everything is okay, just to be sure.”

“I know,” Lexa said. She bit at her lip and her throat moved as she swallowed. “I’m glad we are here. I want to make sure you and the baby are okay.”

“Hon, we will be okay.” Clarke’s blue eyes stared intently into Lexa’s. “How are you doing?”

Lexa took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “I’m angry about what happened.” She moved closer to the bed and rested her free hand on Clarke’s upper arm. “I’m worried and scared for you.”

Clarke’s eyes scanned Lexa’s face, noticing the tenseness around her eyes and the ridged way she sat on the stool. “Are you angry that I got involved?”

“No,” Lexa said, shaking her head. “I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at Wick. I don’t know what I would have done to him if Octavia and Lincoln didn’t step in.” Her lips moved into a slow smile. “You jumping in like you did…to help a friend that is just who you are. It’s one of the reasons why I love you.”

“I love you too and I’m sorry that I scared you.”

Lexa opened her mouth to reply but further conversation was interrupted as the doctor that had examined Clarke earlier pulled back the curtain and came into the room pushing an ultrasound machine.

“Alright let’s see how it’s going in there.” The young doctor started to get the machine set up and then lifted the end of Clarke’s gown to squeeze some gel onto Clarke’s stomach.

Abby arrived just as the doctor started moving the probe along Clarke’s stomach. “Hi, sweetie. I got here as soon as I could.” Abby stood behind the other doctor and placed her hand on Clarke’s lower leg. Her eyes glancing up at the monitors and to the ultrasound machine before coming back to Clarke. “How are you doing?”

“Hi mom. I’m fine. You didn’t need to make the trip here, but thanks for coming.”

“Oh I know I didn’t, but I feel better being here and making sure that you and my grandbaby are okay.” Abby smiled at her daughter then looked over at Lexa. She noticed the tightness of Lexa’s jaw and the worried look on her daughter in law’s face. “I’m sure there is nothing to be worried about.” She reached out to gently squeeze Lexa’s arm. “Lexa, relax. There is very little chance that the baby has been harmed. The uterus is made up of strong muscles and the amniotic fluid provides a nice cushion for the baby. He or she is pretty protected in there.” Abby smiled while giving a final squeeze to Lexa’s arm before she turned towards the monitor as the other doctor began talking about the image on the screen.

Lexa’s eyes widened in amazement at getting to be able to see the outline of their baby’s head and body. She could see what she thought were hands and maybe a foot. Her smile widened when she heard the baby’s heartbeat. Lexa stared at the screen. _Oh my god, there you are_. She caught Clarke’s eye as her wife looked over at her. They smiled at each other. Lexa squeezed Clarke’s hand as they both returned to listen to what the ER doctor was saying about the ultrasound. Lexa only understood half of the medical jargon being used and that was frustrating for her because she wanted to understand everything that was going on.

“So what does all that mean?” Lexa tried to keep her tone soft and even but she felt completely lost in some of the unfamiliar words.

Clarke squeezed her wife’s hand. “It all means that everything is okay.”

“You’re okay and the baby’s okay?” Lexa clarified.

“Yes, hon, everything is normal,” Clarke smiled. She tugged Lexa’s hand closer when she saw Lexa’s shoulders visibly relax.

“The uterus and placenta are intact. Everything appears as it should be at this stage of your baby’s development.” The ER doctor said as she wiped the gel off of Clarke’s stomach and then put her gown back down. “Your vitals are good and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of injury. You might have some muscle soreness due to the fall but other than that you’re good to go. I’ll get your discharge paperwork started.”

Abby waited for the other doctor to leave and then moved up towards the head of the exam table.

“Could you tell if it was a boy or girl?” Clarke asked.

“If I do know do you want to know?” Abby asked. She thought they wanted to wait till Clarke gave birth so it would be a surprise.

_Yes…maybe_ “No, I just want to know if you knew.”

“That part of the ultrasound wasn’t too clear, so I can’t say for sure. What we do know is that you both are okay.” Abby squeezed her daughter’s shoulder. “So, I understand that you fell but I didn’t quite get the details. What happened?”

Clarke explained to her mother what had happened during the annual banquet and how she had gotten involved between Raven and Wick, which resulted in her being pushed down into a table.

Abby had some mixed feelings about the situation. On one hand she was proud of her daughter for stepping in, but on the other Clarke had the health of her pregnancy to think about now. “Clarke,” Abby tried to speak carefully. “Did you think that it might have been a good idea to stay out of it? Let someone else get involved?”

“Mom, he was choking one of my friends, choking Raven and I was right there. What else am I going to do?” Clarke moved to a sitting position. “Raven was going to get her throat checked out. I would actually like to go see how she is doing.”

“I understand wanting to help your friend, really I do. Just promise me that you will think before you react next time.” Abby’s gaze moved to Lexa. “And you need to promise me that you will keep her out of trouble.”

“Mom-“

“I do what I can to keep her safe,” Lexa said, with a frown. “I want her to be safe too but she is an adult and can make her own decisions. I’m not going to babysit her.” _As if I could really stop her if she was determined to do something._

“I’m not asking you to do that…I’m just…well as a mother…” Abby looked at her daughter as she tried to find the right words. “I always want my baby to be safe, no matter what you do I will always worry about you.” Abby’s eyes flickered over to Lexa. “And you too.” She placed her hand on Clarke’s forearm. “Now I will have a grandchild to worry about so yes, I’m in crazy concerned mom mode. I want you all to be safe.”

“I know you worry, I was worried too. I would have been devastated if anything did happen. You said you were in crazy concerned mom mode. I will be like that too I’m sure, because I’m already pretty protective about my friends and family. I saw a friend getting hurt and I had to do something.” Clarke’s eyebrows rose as she shrugged one shoulder. “I run into burning buildings and try to save lives. That is who I am, who I will always be.”

“I know sweetie, and I’m proud of you and all that you have accomplished. I do love you for who you are.” Abby leaned over and kissed Clarke on her forehead. “I will go see what I can find out about Raven.”

“Okay mom.”

Abby passed a nurse who was coming in to remove Clarke’s IV. Once that was done and her discharge papers given to her Clarke was able to shed her hospital gown and with Lexa’s help got herself dressed.

“Are you okay?” Lexa asked as Clarke sat down heavily on the bed.

“Yeah, just tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Yes, it has been.” Lexa picked up Clarke’s shoes and squatted down in front of her. She began putting her shoes on. She had just finished when Abby stuck her head in past the curtain.

“Raven is out in the waiting room with some of your friends. There was no injury to her neck and she is doing fine. The police are done with her and I let everyone know how you were doing. They wanted to stick around to see you before they head home.”

“I’m glad she is okay.” Clarke stood up then picked up her paperwork from the bed. Then wrapped an arm around Lexa’s waist. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

 

Raven, Marcus, Octavia, Lincoln and Bellamy were waiting for them as they came through the double doors that led into the waiting room. Marcus was the first to rise to his feet and walk over.

“Your mother filled us in,” Marcus said. “I’m glad that you’re going to be okay.”

“Thanks Marcus.” Clarke looked past Marcus to Raven who had walked over with the rest of the group. “I’m glad you’re okay too.”

“You know, we spend too much time in this damn waiting room.” Raven smiled as she moved closer and pulled Clarke into a hug. “Thanks for having my back there,” she said after the hug ended. “I’m glad you’re okay too. If anything had happened to you or the baby I don’t think I would have handled it very well.”

“We are all doing okay, and that is what matters.” Clarke smiled at Raven before focusing back on Marcus. “So what happens with Wick now?”

Marcus glanced at Raven then looked back to Clarke. “He has been arrested and as of right now he is suspended,” he said. “There will be an investigation and he very well may lose his job. “

Clarke let out a slow breath of air. “He wasn’t ready to come back. He went through this traumatic experience. He should have taken more time.”

“I’m sure what he has been through will be taken into consideration, but if that is the case he should have taken more time. How he is behaving right now it would be too much of a liability to keeping him.” Marcus reached in his pocket for his car keys. “I will make sure that he has resources to get help no matter what the outcome is.”

Clarke nodded her acceptance of what Marcus had told her. She knew it wasn’t safe for Wick to stay on the department, he could easily put himself or others in danger while responding to a call. Choking his girlfriend and striking fellow employees were grounds for dismissal. She hoped that Wick got the help he so clearly needed.

“Please take me home.” Clarke leaned her forehead against Lexa’s shoulder as they made their way to the exit.

“Raven will be coming home with us,” Octavia said, as she walked beside Clarke. “She will stay with us till she figures something else out.”

“Good.” Clarke’s eyes lowered as she smirked. “How’s your butt doing?”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “It’s fine. I have a hard ass, you know.”

Clarke laughed and shook her head. “I really wouldn’t know.” She turned and looked at her friends and coworkers. “Goodnight everyone, be safe.”

Everyone wished the others goodnight as they made their way to their separate vehicles.

“What a night.” Clarke said as she slowly climbed into Lexa’s truck. She was grateful that Lincoln had driven it to the hospital for them. “I’m ready to go home and put my pajamas on and get some sleep.”

“Me too.” Lexa said before shutting the door and going around the truck to get in on the driver’s side. She put the key in the ignition and started the truck. She then started driving in the direction of their home.

Clarke reached over and took Lexa’s hand. “I’m sorry for all this, for scaring you, making you worried. I don’t ever want to be the reason that you are upset.”

“I’m not upset at you and I’m really glad you and the baby are okay. I know you are sorry for this but it’s not your fault.” Lexa gently squeezed Clarke’s hand. “Clarke, I _was_ worried, terrified that something serious had happened, but that is an everyday thing for me where you’re concerned. You mean so much to me.”

“That goes for me too. I worry every day about you. We both have jobs that are potentially dangerous, and the shit that happens to us even when we are not working.” Clarke thought about how Lexa had jumped in freezing water to save someone and the time she got shot. She shivered at those thoughts as she turned to look at Lexa as much as she could. The seatbelt impeding her movement. “I love you and the thought of anything happening to you scares me, but it’s all worth it. You are worth it.”

“So are you.” Lexa said softly. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

“Nor could I imagine you not being in my life.” Clarke looked away as tears came to her eyes. “Let’s talk about something else. I don’t think I can think about that happening, ever, right now.”

“How about we listen to some music and relax. I’ll give you a little massage after I take Max out and we get some good sleep tonight. Maybe sleep in tomorrow? I don’t have anything planned.”

“I think I would like that, a lot.”

When it came time for Lexa to give Clarke her massage she found Clarke asleep, naked, in their bed. With a smile she undressed and joined her under the covers. She laid in bed watching Clarke for a few minutes, her arm propped up, and her head resting on the palm of her hand. She watched the slow rise and fall of Clarke’s chest, her breasts had grown fuller and heavier. Pulling her pillow so it was under her head she rested her head on it, lying as close to Clarke as she could. Lexa reached over and tenderly placed her hand on Clarke’s stomach as she slowly moved her hand in small circles. _I don’t care if you are a boy or a girl. I just want you to be healthy and I can’t wait till you’re here._ Lexa leaned in and kissed Clarke’s shoulder. “I love you so very much,” she whispered, before moving her arm up higher around Clarke’s waist. She closed her eyes and with a sigh was soon asleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this update out by the end of last week but ended not doing as much writing as I thought I would get to do. Then I had a little too much fun over the weekend and it took me a little bit to recover.  I’m glad I don’t drink frequently or I would never get anything done.
> 
> I will be going on vacation Wednesday. I will be taking my laptop but I don’t know if I will have time to write and I can’t say for sure if I will have internet access. I will be somewhere out in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin. 
> 
> Also if things go as planned I will be joining my hometown’s volunteer fire department. I will be training as an EMT. I will probably stick to the medical side. Fires in fireplaces, campfires and candles are pretty and smell good but I don’t want to get close to anything bigger than that. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years now and it will be a great way to serve my community. So instead of having to look things up on the internet and recall what happened all the times I’ve gone to the hospital I will be able to use what I’ve learned in the story.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> smut chapter :)

Clarke looked up from the book she was reading when she heard the key in their back door. Knowing that it was Lexa she picked up her bookmark and placed it in her book to save her spot. “Hi honey,” she called out when Lexa came through the door. “How did the game go?”

“We won.” Lexa smiled, placing her keys and take out box on the counter. “Hi Max.” Lexa bent down and patted their dog before she met Clarke in the middle of the kitchen for a hug and a kiss. “Becky wanted me to tell you that she misses you.”

Clarke squeezed Lexa’s waist where she had placed her hands. “Aw, I miss her too. I was really hoping that phone meeting would have gotten over sooner so I could have made the game. How did our girl do?”

“She scored one of the runs.” The left side of Lexa’s mouth lifted up in a half smile. “I thought we were going to have a fight on our hands at one point.”

Clarke’s eyes widened. “How so?”

“Becky was covering third base and one of the kids on the other team was running from second to third. When he reached the base he shoved her. I’m not sure he did it deliberately, but he might have had a hard time stopping. Still she lost her balance. At first I thought she was going to throw her glove down on the ground and punch the kid. Thankfully she just gave him a glare and told him that he was ‘rude’ and got back into position.”

“I can so imagine her saying that. I’m sorry I missed it.” Clarke patted Lexa’s hip and sat down on one of the stools by the island counter. “Where did you end up going out to eat after the game?” She knew they were going to go somewhere. Lexa had texted her and asked if she had wanted to meet them but by the time she got done with her phone call she hadn’t felt like leaving the house.

“Geno’s.” Lexa grabbed the take out box from the counter. “I brought you some leftovers. Canadian bacon pizza and some brownies. Have you already eaten?”

“Thanks hon, and yes I already ate. I can take it with me for lunch tomorrow though.”

Lexa walked over to the refrigerator and put the left overs inside. “How did your phone conference go?”

“It went okay. A lot of questions and concerns about the training process, resources and cost. I think I answered the same question about a dozen times, but by the end of the conversation we were all on the same page.”

“Good.” Lexa came over and stood next to Clarke and began rubbing the nape of her neck. “So, I’m home and we have the rest of the evening together. What would you like to do?”

“Right now you kind of smell.” Clarke grinned as Lexa picked up the collar of her shirt and brought it up to her nose and sniffed.

Lexa wrinkled her nose. “So I do.”

“Yeah, you do.” Clarke nodded solemnly.

Both eyebrows rose over green eyes. “What do you suggest we do about that?”

“Well, I thought it would be nice for you to take a bath and that I could join you.”

Lexa rubbed Clarke’s back. She was glad to be home and that she could spend some time with her wife. “That sounds like a nice idea.”

Clarke briefly closed her eyes at the comfort of Lexa’s hand on her back. “Hmm, yes. Then I want you to take me to bed.”

Lexa’s eyes searched Clarke’s, her throat moved as she swallowed. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Clarke grabbed Lexa’s hand. “It’s been so long and if you don’t make love to me I think I’m going to go a little crazy.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Lexa said, gently tugging Clarke to her feet.

“No, we don’t.” Clarke smiled as she was led towards the bathroom.

Clarke got the water running in the bathtub, making sure that it wasn’t too hot as Lexa got into the closet and set out towels and washcloths.

“Come here,” Clarke said, hooking her fingers around a loop on Lexa’s shorts and pulling her closer. “You have entirely too much clothes on.”

“So do you, and I think we need to change that.”

Lexa first cupped Clarke’s face and kissed her slow and gentle before her hands trailed down the front of Clarke’s shirt. Sliding over Clarke’s breasts she heard her wife’s inhalation of breath. Her fingers progressed over Clarke’s rounded stomach till she reached the hem of Clarke’s shirt. Slowly she brought the shirt up and over the top of Clarke’s head, pausing the kiss only long enough to get the shirt passed Clarke’s head. Lexa resumed the kiss and discarded the shirt off to the side. She didn’t know where it landed and she didn’t care.

Clarke glided her hands underneath Lexa’s shirt and reached up to cup both of Lexa’s breasts above the sports bra she wore. Squeezing she was rewarded with a groan from Lexa and an increase in pressure of Lexa’s lips against her own. Bringing her fingers down to the edge of the bra she slipped her fingers underneath and with one quick move she peeled off Lexa’s shirt and bra. Clarke could taste salty skin as she attaching her lips to Lexa’s neck and reached up and removed the hair band from Lexa’s head. Dark hair fell across Lexa’s naked shoulders and down her back.

Lexa’s eyes were closed at Clarke attacked her neck with licks and kisses. Her blunt nails dug into Clarke’s shoulders as she tried to keep her balance. She felt Clarke’s hands moved down her back and move past the waist band of her shorts. Both of her butt cheeks were grabbed and squeezed as she was pulled closer towards Clarke. Lexa cupped the back of Clarke’s head with her right hand as she held Clarke to her.

“Babe, if you keep this up we’re not making it into the tub.” Lexa shuddered as Clarke took her earlobe between her lips. She felt and heard Clarke’s laugh against her face.

“I forgot about the tub.” Clarke stepped back and checked the water level. “That should be high enough.” Clarke turned the bathtub faucets off and turned back towards Lexa. “Now, I believe I was trying to get you naked.”

“You were doing a great job of it too.” Lexa smiled before she reached up and slid Clarke’s bra strap down. Bending down she placed a kiss where the bra strap had sat. Next she place a tender kiss on Clarke’s forehead before moving to the other shoulder and repeated what she did with the first one.

Lexa’s fingers skimmed across the surface of Clarke’s back as she reached around and unhooked the bra, letting it fall down onto the floor. Maintaining eye contact with Clarke she knelt down on the floor and slowly removed Clarke’s shorts and panties. From her position on her knees she kissed and rubbed her face against Clarke’s stomach. She felt Clarke’s fingers brush through her hair as she tried to remove some of the tangles from where her hair had come loose from the ponytail. Slowly moving to her feet Lexa removed her own shorts and panties.

“Ready to get into the tub?” Lexa asked.

“Uh-huh,” Clarke said, her eyes traveling up and down Lexa’s naked body. When her eyes met Lexa’s she smiled. “I really like looking at you.”

Lexa gave Clarke a soft smile of her own. “I’m so glad. I like looking at you too. You are so beautiful.”

Clarke reached for Lexa’s hand and they moved close to the tub. “Sit in front of me and I will wash your back for you.”

“Okay, but you need to get in first,” Lexa said, wanting to make sure Clarke got into the tub safely.

Once they were both in the tub Clarke moved Lexa’s hair aside and pressed herself to Lexa’s back. She enjoyed the feeling of having Lexa so close and she like the way the loose strands of Lexa’s hair tickled her breasts.

“I’ve really missed you,” Clarke said with a sigh.

Lexa felt the press of a kiss on the top of her shoulder. “I’ve missed you too. I know our schedules suck right now, but it won’t always be like this.” Lexa’s fingers gently touched and moved along one of Clarke’s arms that encircled her waist. “It won’t be long and I will be home more and we can actually spend some time together.”

“Can’t wait.” Clarke kissed the back of Lexa’s neck then reached for a washcloth. “Have you heard anything new about Gus?”

Lexa had talked to Gus earlier that day. “He is doing well and following doctor’s orders.” She leaned forward as Clarke rubbed a soapy washcloth along her back. “He should be able to return to work as planned. If something comes up and he can’t I will hire some temporary help to come in and do his job till he can come back.

“I’m glad he is doing so well.” Clarke moved the washcloth up and down Lexa’s arms. “Lean back against me.” Clarke softly ordered. When Lexa leaned back against her she ran the washcloth across Lexa’s chest and stomach. “I really like this.”

“Me too.” Lexa’s muscles were relaxed as Clarke began rinsing the soap off of her.

“Yeah when you let me.” Clarke ran a finger over Lexa’s left nipple and smiled at Lexa’s sharp intake of air. “You don’t often let me pamper you, especially lately.”

“I wanted to pamper you. Make sure you are nice and relaxed and free from too many worries.”

“I like it when you take care of me, but you deserve to be taken care of too.” Clarke dropped the washcloth and began running her hands all over Lexa’s upper body. “Plus I like doing it.”

Clarke’s touch on her body was stimulating for Lexa and she bit her lip as Clarke’s left hand strayed down cupping her between her legs. _Oh no not yet, tonight is going to be about Clarke._ “Speaking of which, how about we get out of this tub so I can properly take care of you?”

“I’m kind of enjoying what I’m doing now.” Clarke’s free hand came up and cupped Lexa’s breast.

“God honey, me too…” Lexa moaned from movement of Clarke’s palm between her legs and the tugging at her breast. “I very much want to be touching your right now.”

“You sure you’d rather be touching me?” Clarke ran a finger along Lexa’s clit and smiled as Lexa’s hands, which had been relaxed on her thighs, suddenly gripped her legs.

“Oh…ah…Clarke…” Lexa’s head rolled towards Clarke’s. “If you keep that up…it won’t take much longer.”

Clarke kissed Lexa’s shoulder as she squeezed the breast in her hand. Her fingers continued to slide along Lexa’s clit as she increased the speed of the strokes between Lexa’s legs. “Good, because I want to hear you come. You know how excited I get when I hear you.”

“Oh…okay…” Lexa’s voice trailed off into a moan as she began to shudder against Clarke. Her orgasm had been quick and strong. Her body slowly stopped twitching and she laid loosely in Clarke’s arms trying to catch her breath. She smiled lazily when she could breathe normally. “Told you it wouldn’t take long.”

Clarke chuckled and placed a kiss just behind Lexa’s ear. “Not this time no, but we have several hours ahead of us to take it slow.” She knew that they were going to make love that night after having abstained for a long time. Seeing Lexa naked and after touching her so intimately already she couldn’t wait till they got into the bedroom.

Lexa leaned forward and turned so she was facing Clarke. Her gaze traveled up Clarke’s upper body, lingering on her breasts before settling on her eyes. She smiled softly. “How about we go and get started on that?”

Clarke returned the smile and nodded her head as Lexa stood up and then helped her to stand up. Lexa was the first to step out of the tub. She held out her hands for Clarke to hold onto as she stepped over the side of the tub. She was then wrapped up in a large soft fluffy towel as they both quickly dried off.

Leaving their clothing and the towels discarded on the floor they headed towards their bedroom. Lexa turned on a bedside lamp and followed Clarke onto the bed. They both laid on their side facing each other.

“You are so beautiful,” Lexa said. She reached up and ran her fingers through Clarke’s blonde hair. Brushing it back from her face she leaned in and placed a small kiss on Clarke’s lips. Moving back slightly Lexa continued to look at Clarke’s lips, tracing the bottom lip with her index finger. “You take my breath away,” she said, looking up into Clarke’s eyes. “Do you know that?”

Clarke kissed the finger that still touched her lips. Her smile was a happy one. “I do because you do the same to me. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Clarke.” Reached out Lexa cupped the back of Clarke’s head and brought their lips together in a kiss that started out as gentle but quickly grew more heated.

Clarke move her lips about an inch away from Lexa’s. “I need you to touch me know. Please baby,” Clarke whispered, then pressed her lips back onto Lexa’s. She gasped when she felt Lexa’s hand on her breast. “Oh yes,” she groaned. Her breathing increased as Lexa continued to pay attention to her breasts, which had grown more sensitive, especially around her nipples. The pressure and the wetness between her legs grew. She jumped and arched her back when Lexa’s hand was replaced with her mouth and tongue.

Lexa’s hand was soon grabbed in a strong grip and forced down between Clarke’s legs. Lexa released the nipple she had between her lips and brought her mouth up near Clarke’s ear. “I’ll take care of you.” She began trailing kisses along Clarke’s neck as her fingers slowly moved in and out of the wetness between Clarke’s parted legs.

As soon as Lexa started stroking inside of her Clarke moved her hand up to clutch desperately at the back of Lexa’s head. Her eyes closed, lips parted as she quickly breathed in and out of her mouth. When Lexa moved and pressed her forehead to hers she held onto Lexa’s shoulders, her fingernails digging into Lexa’s skin.

Lexa started to leisurely and gently kiss Clarke as her thumb slowly circled her clit. She could feel the bite of Clarke’s nails on her shoulders but she was enjoying Clarke’s reaction to her touch too much to care. It had been months since they connected like this and Lexa had missed pleasuring her wife.

Clarke’s moans increased as she drew closer to orgasm. “Oh god…Lexa…” She pulled Lexa closer to her as she started bucking against her. “Oh god, oh god, oh god.” Pressing her lips tightly together she breathed heavily through her nose as she continued to cling to Lexa. As the last contraction left her she fell weakly against the bed.

Lexa pressed her lips briefly against Clarke’s face and upper chest. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

“Uh-huh.” A lazy smile spread across Clarke’s face. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m very happy at the moment.” Leaning forward she placed several kisses on Clarke’s lips. Moving her hand down she placed it on Clarke’s belly. “Everything feel okay here?” Lexa had made sure she stayed off to the side so she wasn’t lying directly on Clarke.

“Everything feels fantastic.” Clarke covered Lexa’s hand with her own. She felt relaxed and completely loved. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

Clarke chuckled and stretched her body out. “Give me a few more minutes to recover and we can thank each other all night.”

And they did.


	15. Chapter 15

 

Lexa stood at the edge of the main boat ramp leading to the river. She watched as the calm waters flowed peacefully by. The morning was already warm and sticky but that didn’t stop those that liked being out on the water fishing. There were at least five boats out on the river indicated by the parked vehicles with trailers sitting in the parking lot.

The morning had been quiet so far. Gus’ replacement was doing well. A wild haired young woman named Luna was sent by the temp agency that she had contacted for temporary help while Gus recovered from his heart attack. He was doing well but not as well as the doctors were hoping at this point and they extended his date on returning to work. Covering his responsibilities and working overtime was getting to be too much and Lexa herself was getting burnt out from being at work all the time. She had wanted to be at home more with Clarke, to help out her wife who fatigued more easily these days, so hiring temporary help was the answer to her own tiredness and budget concerns. Luna caught on fast to the computer work and documentation. She worked well with the public when they came into the office and she wasn’t shy about using the radio. Luna was interested in working in Law Enforcement for the Department of Natural Resources and was going to leave for the Police Academy in a few months. Just long enough for Gus to take the necessary time off to heal before returning to work.

Lexa hoped that was the case anyway. She liked Luna, and she would make a good DNR officer, but Luna wasn’t Gus and she missed having her friend and father figure there. Gus too was unhappily biding his time till he was allowed back to work.

Lexa bend down and picked up several stones and tried to make them skip along the water. _At least he is getting his rest and doing what the doctors are telling him he needs to do. Of course with Harvey, Betty and Alice there making sure he is a good boy he better be doing well. Betty would be cracking the whip if necessary, and for Betty that could very well mean literally._

“Okay, I don’t need to think about that at all,” Lexa said quietly to herself as she heard and felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out she made her way to the trailblazer after checking the number. _It’s the office, wonder why she didn’t use the radio_. “Hello, this is Lexa.”

“Lexa, its Luna. I didn’t want to put this out over the radio but you need to meet two hikers, George and Maggie Burggeran at the beginning of Morgan trail. They called about a minute ago and said they found a dead body.”

_Oh shit_. “Okay, I need you to call the sheriff’s department and let them know. Tell them I will meet the deputy at the entrance of the trail.”

“Will do.” Luna hung up without another word.

Lexa got into the trailblazer and started driving to the Morgan trail. She would talk to the couple and wait till the deputy got there, then they would have the couple take them to where they saw the body. She wanted to wait so that the scene wasn’t disturbed any further.

As far as she knew no one had been reported missing. The body could be a random hiker, a camper that had yet to be found missing or someone could have come into the park to do a body dump. They would know more once they saw the condition of the body. She swallowed and mentally prepared herself for what they could possibly find. Depending on how long the body had been there it would have been exposed to the elements, be in decay and animals could have fed off of it.

Lexa spotted the couple right away. George was sitting on the edge of the picnic table and Maggie was pressed against his front in a tight hug. The anguish she felt contorted her face and when Lexa parked her truck she moved away from the man, reaching up to wipe her face.

Lexa picked up her portable radio. Exiting from the truck she made her way over to the couple.

Lexa glanced around the area as she approached the couple. It was only the three of them. “George and Maggie?” she asked, stopping in front of the two hikers.

“Yes,” George said. He continued to rub the woman’s back as she sobbed.

“I’m Lexa Griffin. Can you tell me what about what you discovered?”

Maggie held her hand up to her mouth. Shaking her head she looked to George to tell the story.

“We were walking along the trail and stopped along the first bridge that goes across this dry creek bed to catch our breath.” George took a deep breath and bit his lip. “I looked over the side of the bridge and that is where I saw her.” He looked at his watch. “I wasn’t exactly sure I was seeing what I was seeing. You don’t expect to look over the side of a bridge and see a dead person, maybe a fish or some other animal but not a person…”

Lexa knew exactly what bridge he was talking about. “I’m sure that was very surprising for you. Please, can you tell me what did you do then?”

“Called the ranger station and got the hell out of there,” he said.

“I couldn’t stay there,” Maggie said, stifling her tears. “It’s just so horrible.”

“I’m sorry that you had to see that.” Lexa’s eyes were gentle as she looked at the woman. “I need to get some contact information from you. Someone from the sheriff’s department should be here soon and they will have some questions for you too and if you are able we will need you to show us where you saw the body.”

Maggie wrapped her arms around herself. “Oh, I can’t go back. Please don’t make me go back.”

“I’ll do it. You don’t have to see it again.” George pulled Maggie into her arms. “That is okay, isn’t it?” He looked at Lexa for confirmation.

“That is fine with me.” Lexa looked over her shoulder as she heard a vehicle approaching. It was the deputy. “Since this is possibly a crime scene law enforcement will be in charge. We will check to see what the deputy says and go from there.”

The responding officer was Deputy Reid, who had the couple repeat their story and got their contact information. He let Maggie stay in the back of the squad car as he, Lexa and George made their way along the path towards the body.

Lexa looked down at the crumbled naked body of a young woman. She had blonde hair that was swept back from her face, the left side pressed to the ground. Her skin was very pale and the one eye that Lexa could see was open, blue eye glazed over. Lexa’s scanned the area while Deputy Reid carefully made his way down onto the creek bed. There were no obvious signs of trauma or struggle that Lexa could detect from the exposed back. She knew it was just a formality to check the woman’s pulse and that there wouldn’t be one. It didn’t appear that animals had gotten to her. _She looks like she decided to take her clothes off and lay down._

Lexa took the crime scene tape that the deputy had brought with him and started to tape off the area. She would need to close off both entrances to the trail to keep other hikers from coming along and disrupting the area.

Deputy Reid finished talking on his radio as he stepped onto the bridge. “I have other deputies and the medical examiner coming.” He looked down at the body. “Have you seen her before?”

Lexa shook her head. “No, I haven’t.” _She looks like she is a teenager or in her early twenties_. _So young and sad._ “I’ll go and get the trail blocked off so you don’t have a bunch of curious onlookers coming in and messing up the scene.”

“Okay, and we are probably going to have to close the park and interview everyone here before they can leave. We will also need a list of anyone that has come into the office for anything. Permits, paying for camping etc. I would say for at least this past week.”

“I’ll get Luna working on that. I’ll also call in some of my people to help. There is a lot of area to cover if you want to talk to everyone that could possibly be in the park.”

“Can we go now?” George asked, shifting from one foot to the other. “I really should be getting back to my wife.”

“You can go back to where you left your wife but I would like for you to stick around a bit longer. I need more information from you. You can go to the Sherriff’s department or,” Deputy Reid ignored the man’s crestfallen look and turned to Lexa. “do you think they could sit at the ranger station till we get a chance to talk to them further?”

“Sure.” Lexa reached out and touched George briefly on the arm to get his attention. “Why don’t we head there now? We can get you some coffee or water while you wait.”

Sighing, George nodded. Sitting at the ranger station drinking crappy coffee was better than standing out here with the body.

“I’ll have a deputy meet you at the ranger station right away to get your statements so you two can get out of here as soon as you can.” Deputy Reid didn’t add that they wouldn’t be able to leave till they were sure they had nothing to do with the body lying on the ground as he started speaking into his radio once again.

 

By the time Lexa got George back up the trail, stretched bright yellow tape from one tree to the other blocking the entrance to the trail and convinced Maggie that it was in their best interest to not try and leave till they gave their statements, a deputy was already waiting for them at the ranger station. Depositing George and Maggie into the custody of the deputy she gave Luna a list of instructions then went back out to block off the other entrance to the trail.

She saw several police cars and vans drive past as she was walking back towards her truck. She knew the park would be crawling with police and she would have some disgruntled boaters and campers who would be unhappy about being questioned. Knowing that the media would also be making their way out she dialed her supervisor once she was seated back into her truck.

As she was finishing up her conversation with her supervisor, who was on his way to the park to handle any media inquiries and protect the park’s interests, she heard her phone beep indicating that someone was trying to call her. By the time she was finished with her call she had a voicemail. Checking her phone log she discovered that she had missed Clarke’s call. Dialing her voicemail she listened to Clarke’s message.

“Hey, I heard that the medical examiner and one of our ambulances was heading out to the park. Call me back and let me know you’re okay…you better be okay. Call me.”

Lexa quickly called Clarke back, not wanting her wife to worry about her. She smiled as the call was picked up on the first ring. _She must have been waiting right by the phone._ “I’m fine,” Lexa said, before Clarke could speak.

“I’m so glad to hear that.” Clarke felt herself relax since she had her the call to transport a body. “Is the scene bad?”

Clarke knew from past experience that a body could be in various conditions. From a recent death, such as one found in a nursing home where an elderly patient had just expired or to one at the scene of an accident when they were picking up pieced of what once had been body parts along the interstate. Yet other times the body hadn’t been found for a long time and was in advanced decomposition.

“They are all bad…you know.” Lexa leaned back in her seat and rested her head against the head rest. “The body is not in bad condition so it hasn’t been out here long. I have Indra and Lincoln coming in. We have to help interview everyone in the park before they can leave. Police are looking for evidence, which out here is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I don’t know what time I will get home tonight honey. I need to stay till they are done here at the park.”

“I know,” Clarke said with a bitter laugh. “I’ve been in that situation too.” _Last time I did a body transport we had to wait two hours for the medical examiner to come out and officially pronounce the person dead._

“How are you doing?” Lexa had closed her eyes as she listened to her wife’s voice.

“I’m fine. I really didn’t have much to do today so I’m helping Marcus with some CQI reports. Evelin from State is coming and auditing the department. I might not get home too early tonight either.”

Lexa knew by the tone of Clarke’s voice that she wasn’t exactly ‘fine’ but knew Clarke would insist that she was if she pressed the matter. “Do you think you could have someone go out and let Max out? Poor guy is usually pretty anxious to get outside even when we are home at our normal time.”

“I’ll take care of it. You take care of yourself and make sure you eat something.”

Lexa opened her eyes and smiled. “Make sure you follow your own advice as well.” She straightened up in her seat. “I should probably get back to the scene and find out what Deputy Reid wants to do next. I’ll keep in touch.”

“Please do and I will talk with you soon. I love you.”

“I love you too, bye.” Lexa pushed the button on her phone to end the call. Sighing she started her truck and drove back to the trail the body was found on.

 

It had been a quiet day at the fire department for Clarke. She helped inventory the ambulances and the fire trucks to make sure that the equipment and medical supplies were fully stocked. Checking to make sure none of the supplies were outdated and helped review the paperwork to make sure that the patient care reports were adequately completed over the last year. Fortunately the department documented everything that they should and there was no glaring problems. Evelin could be a stickler for little details and she had the power to close the department if everything wasn’t as it should be.

Clarke had just read over a patient care report that she had filled out when the alert came for the body at Mt. Weather Park. An icy fear gripped at her heart and immediately she had thought of Lexa and had to make sure her wife was okay. She had felt reassured at hearing Lexa’s voice, and while she reasoned that Lexa was busy with the body’s discovery and what must be done to preserve any evidence, not reaching her wife when she had originally called made her feel even more anxious.

_I know I have all sorts of hormones changing in my body and it’s making my emotions go all crazy._ Clarke knew if she hadn’t heard from Lexa soon she was going to call Octavia, who had gone on the call, to see if she had seen her.

Clarke looked up at the knock at her door. Marcus stood in the doorway with a stack of files. “Whatever you have there I don’t want it.” She laughed as she cleared more space on her desk. “More PCRs?”

“Employee files actually. Can you help me make sure everyone is current on their certifications and training hours?”

“Sure. I have a few more of the PCRs to do but I will help you out when I get done.”

Marcus put the stack of files on the edge of Clarke’s desk. Up close he was able to get a good look at her. “Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale.”

“I’m just a little tired and my back is aching. I should probably get up and do some stretching. I’ve been sitting at this desk for too long.”

Marcus watched carefully as Clarke rose up from her desk. Her face didn’t show any signs of discomfort and she didn’t seem to have any problems with movement or balance, which was good.

Clarke walked over to the mini fridge in the office and got out a bottle of water. She held out the bottle to Marcus. “Would you like one?”

Marcus shook his head. “No, thanks.” He sat down in a chair in front of the desk. “So how are you sleeping at night?”

Clarke slowly titled her head back and forth and looked up. “Alright. I’m up a lot to pee.” She chuckled as her gaze returned to Marcus while she opened up her bottle of water and took a drink. She wasn’t going to tell him about all the changes that had happened to her body over the second trimester and how it affected her _. I don’t think he wants to hear all that stuff._ “I’m more tired than I was before, granted I’m carrying around more weight than I was before.” She put her hand on her stomach as she came back over to her desk and sat down. “But I’m fine. Believe me if I thought something wasn’t right I would tell you.”

“Okay, just remember you are surrounded by medical personnel, those that care about you, and if you feel it is necessary don’t be shy about asking one of us to do a set of vitals on you or run you to the hospital if need be.”

“If I need help I’ll announce it over the PA system so you all can come running.” Clarke smiled at Marcus, knowing what he said was the truth. If she needed anything her coworkers would be all there for her. “How about we get back to this?”

Marcus picked up a file and opened it. “Yes, let’s do that. I hope everyone is up on their CPR certification, otherwise we will have to do an impromptu class.”

Clarke only nodded, she herself didn’t know if her CPR certification was up to date. She would have to look at her card to make sure. She thought she still had a year before it expired. _It will be awful if I have to try and get down on the floor and do chest compressions with my belly as big as it is. My coworkers may have to put a non-rebreather mask on me to give me some oxygen when it’s all said and done._ Hoping that wasn’t something that was going to happen Clarke went back to her paperwork and wondered how Lexa was doing.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back to writing. I didn't get to do as much as I though I could. My EMT class took a lot of time with all the reading, class time, studying, tutoring my classmates and doing my clinical hours. I can say that it all paid off though. I was number 1 in the class and to date I'm the only one who has passed my national certification. Goal accomplish and now onto others which includes finishing up my stories.
> 
> Thank you for continuing to read. I do appreciate it.

Lexa watched as the body of the young girl was placed on the basket stretcher by two paramedics. She didn’t know either of the men very well. Tyler and Michael’s didn’t often work the same shifts as Clarke and her friends. They gave grim smiles and nodded to her as they carried the stretcher past her. She turned and watched them head up the trail with the body. She took a deep breath as Deputy Reid and another man dressed in plain clothes walked up to her.

“This is Captain Michael Dierks Lexa. He would like it if you would help one of our deputies canvas everyone who is staying in the campground.” Deputy Reid nodded to the balding fiftyish looking man at his right. “See if she belongs to anyone staying here or if they happen to have seen her.”

“Absolutely, whatever I can do to help.” Lexa shook Captain Dierks’ hand.

“The deputies have a picture of the deceased on their phones. Hopefully someone knows her and can help.” Michael rubbed his hand along the top of his thinning hair. “Have her ride with Forester and search this side of the park. I will have another deputy start at the other end.”

“Sure Captain.” Deputy Reid nodded and tapped Lexa on the shoulder. “Come this way and I will introduce you.”

Lexa followed the Deputy back to the parking lot and over to a female deputy who was closing the ambulance doors. She was young, blonde, and thin as well as the shortest police officer that Lexa had ever seen.

“Deputy Forester this is Ranger Lexa Griffin. The Captain wants you two go around to all the campsites and show everyone the picture of our victim. See if anyone knows who she is or if they have seen her lately.”

Lexa nodded to the young deputy as dark brown eyes moved from Deputy Reid to meet her own. _Wow she looks like she could be twelve at the most. I wonder if looking so young hinders or benefits her when dealing with the public._

Deputy Forester lips stretched into a small smile as she nodded towards the other deputy. “Understood sir.” The young deputy’s eyebrows rose as she gazed up at the park ranger who was several inches taller than herself. “Would you like to drive ma’am.”

Lexa extended her hand for the other woman to shake. “Yes, and you can call me Lexa.”

“You can call me Caitlin then,” the younger woman said, following Lexa to her truck. Opening the door she had to reach up towards the handle to help herself climb up in. Once inside she adjusted her gun belt and reached for the seatbelt. “Do you get a lot of dead bodies out here?”

Glancing over at the blonde woman Lexa shook her head. “Not many. Lost hikers, stranded boats and occasional animal bites are what we mostly have. Any bodies that are found are the animal variety.” Turning onto the park road she started driving to the first campsite. “How long have you been on the department?”

Caitlin chuckled and pressed her shoulder against the door and partially turned so she could look at Lexa. “What you think I’m too young to be a deputy?” _How many times have I heard that?_

Lexa shook her head and smiled, turning onto the paved path for the first campsite. There were only two registered campers on this site and their RVs were parked three lots away from the other. The sites on this part of the park were further away from the major road that traveled through the park and offered much more privacy. Only on weekends such as Memorial Day would these camp grounds see a lot of activity. She stopped her truck just past the first fifth wheel camper.

“You must get that asked a lot, and yes, I think you look like you’re about twelve years old, but I know you’re at least twenty-one.”

“Would you believe that I’m thirty?” Caitlin broadly smiled as she released her seatbelt.

Lexa’s eyebrows rose as she shook her head. “No way.”

“Thirty last month.” Caitlin shrugged her shoulders. “Going out to drinks is a bitch. I’m always carded and they think it’s fake. I am new to this department though. I’ve only been here for about six months. I was at my previous gig for eight years, so I’m not a rookie to the job, just the area.”

“I see, well then Deputy Forester,” Lexa gestured to the camper as she got out of the truck, “you take the lead on questioning.”

 

Lexa stood by and observed the deputy as the older couple were questioned and showed a photo of the deceased woman. They hadn’t seen anything and were concerned about something so horrible happening so close to where they were staying. The not as young as she thought deputy offered support and comfort about their fears while Lexa observed their campsite. Nothing looked suspicious and the couple were properly registered.

“Speaking of age you seem awfully young for the position you have,” Caitlin said, walking towards their next campsite.

“I guess I am.” Lexa kept her eyes forward on the next campsite, noting that there wasn’t a vehicle in the parking spot. _Maybe no one is here right now?_ “I’m a few years younger than you and I was fortunate to get the opportunity.”

There was no answer when Lexa knocked on the door. As they listened it was silent inside. The only sounds they heard was the rustle of the leaves in the trees and chirping birds.

“We’ll have to come back later,” Caitlin said, walking around the camper looking for anything out of place in plain view.

“Yes,” Lexa agreed as they started walking towards the shower and bathroom building. “Have you worked many suspicious deaths?”

Caitlin shook her head. “Not many. Those that I have I usually grab the initial information and stand guard protecting the scene as the detectives and crime scene unit do their thing.

After checking the bathrooms for anything suspicious they were soon on the way back to the truck and onto the next campground.

“So how many stops do we have?” Caitlin asked, while scribbling in her notebook.

“Quite a few if you include all the picnic areas and shelter houses. We need to check those out as well.”

“So there is a lot of places that this girl could have been taken from if she indeed was a guest of the park and not brought in for a body dump.”

“Yes, there is a lot of ground to cover. We were pretty fortunate to find our victim at all.” Lexa took a deep breath. “It’s like the killer placed her in place where she could be found.”

Caitlin nodded her agreement. “No decomposition and the animals hadn’t gotten to her yet.” _She couldn’t have been where she was found for long._ Caitlin looked at the dense trees as they drove by. “Seems like a nice park. I’ve never been through this one before.” Caitlin turned from the window and glanced at the dark haired woman at her side. “Head park rangers live at the park don’t they?”

“Usually.” Lexa tapped the steering wheel lightly with her fingertips. “I lived here for several years before I got married.”

Caitlin nodded in the direction of Lexa’s hand. “I noticed the ring on your finger. What does your husband do?”

Lexa’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. _I always hate this part_. _Time to see if Officer Forester is a homophobe. Being stuck in a truck with her would make this assignment oh so much fun._ “My wife is on the fire department. She is a fire fighter and paramedic.”

Caitlin noticed how Lexa’s grip on the steering wheel had changed. “My younger brother got engaged to his boyfriend last week. They met while in college. How did you and your wife meet?”

Lexa felt herself relax and she smiled recalling that day. “We had a missing child out here a couple of years ago and she and I were paired up to go looking for her. We fortunately found her and afterwards we kept in touch.”

Caitlin nodded as she put her notebook in her right breast pocket. “I’ve been to a few accidents and medical calls. I wonder if I’ve met your wife. What is her name?”

“Clarke Griffin.” _The most amazing person I’ve ever met._

Caitlin’s eyes narrowed as she shook her head slightly. “The name doesn’t ring a bell.”

“You might not have met her since you said you have only been here about six months. She stopped going out on calls about five months ago.” Lexa turned the steering wheel to the right as they entered the next camp ground.

“Why did she stop going out on calls?” Caitlin directed her sight out the window to see an empty camp ground. “No one to speak to here but we should do a drive through and check out the bathrooms.”

Lexa parked in front of the building that housed the shower and bathrooms. “To answer your question she doesn’t go out on calls anymore because she is twenty weeks pregnant.” Lexa’s smile was full of pride.

“Oh wow, congratulations. Is this your first or do you have other kids?” Caitlin frowned when they got out of the truck. “Do you smell that?”

“Yes,” Lexa said as she started breathing out of her mouth. It didn’t help much. The air was so thick with the smell of death and decay that she could taste it.

“Please oh please be a dead animal,” Caitlin said, approaching the door to the women’s side of the building. Pulling out her flashlight she shined it into the darkened room. “Shit, we got another body.”

Lexa looked over the shoulder of the smaller woman. Slumped in the corner by the sink were the remains of what had once been a man. From what she could see it looked like he had been beaten severely about his head and face and he had been eviscerated from sternum to genitals. Bodily organs that had once had been confined inside the man’s abdomen were spilt out onto his lap. Seeing enough Lexa stepped back, hand over her mouth she walked away from the scene willing herself not to throw up.

Caitlin, while still standing outside the bathroom with one hand covering her mouth, shined the flashlight around the interior of the room. Stepping back she looked around the immediate area then walked around to the men’s side of the bathrooms to check. The male side of the bathroom didn’t hold any surprises so she made her way over to where Lexa stood which was far enough away from the building that the smell wasn’t as overwhelming. “The men’s side is empty. Do you have any warning tape? We need to secure the area and I need to get this called in.”

Lexa nodded and patted Caitlin on the shoulder as she walked past her to go get the tape. The young woman was kind of pale and she could hear some shakiness to Catlin’s voice as she radioed for more assistance. Taking out her own cell phone she placed a call to the ranger station.

“How is it going there Luna?” Lexa tried to interject some pleasantness into her voice but she couldn’t quite do it. She lifted up the back gate of the trailblazer and reached for the caution tape. She wasn’t enjoying being closer to the smell and tried to keep herself from gagging.

“The Sheriff’s department is still questioning that couple that found that poor girl. They are all in the other room. So sad what they’ve seen.”

“I can imagine.” _Believe me._ “Luna can you tell me if anyone had been registered for campsite four?” Lexa grabbed the tape as she listened to the clicking of Luna’s fingers on the keyboard of the computer.

“There was a registration two days ago but they never checked in or called to cancel.”

Lexa blew out a breath of air. “I didn’t think so but thought I would check. What was the name on the registration?” Lexa wrote the name on the palm of her hand. “Okay I want you to give the deputies there this guy’s name and see if they can get in contact with him.”

Luna wrote the name of the registrant on a piece of paper with his address and phone number. “I can do that. Do you think he is involved in this somehow?”

“I just want to cover our bases and see if they can contact him.” Lexa looked skyward and took a deep breath. “We found another body-“

“Shit,” Luna said. “What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know.” Lexa was looking down towards the ground but looked up as Caitlin came walking towards her. “Listen it may be nothing with Mr. Brooks. Maybe he decided not to come and forgot to cancel. Let the deputies know whatever information we have. I’m going to let Deputy Forester know about the registration.”

“Okay and be careful out there. With some maniac on the loose I don’t want to have to tell your wife anything bad happened to you.”

“I will be careful, bye.” Lexa ended the phone call and put her phone away in her pocket. “There was registration for this campground two days ago. A guy by the name of Dawson Brooks. He never checked in or cancelled his registration. Luna is letting the deputies at the station know.”

Caitlin’s jaw tightened at the news. “Let’s get this blocked off. We are going to have company soon and from what I hear the state police and the department of criminal investigation is coming too.”

“Lovely.” Lexa watched where she was walking as they blocked off the area and tried to hold her breath as they made a perimeter around the building. She pocketed what was left of the roll and nodded towards the bathrooms. “I’m hoping he has some ID on him. Would be nice if we at least found out who he is.”

“Hopefully, I’m going to let the crime scene people try to find that. The less amount of people walking in and out of the bathroom the better. I didn’t see anything standing out though when I did my walk around but the crime scene unit will go over the area more thoroughly. They may find something.” Caitlin followed Lexa back to the truck. “So how often are these bathrooms checked?”

“Depends on the time of the year and if the campground has been used.” Lexa crossed her arms. “This one is more remote from the others. Not as close to the main road and further away from the river. We drive through it every day but the bathrooms may not have been checked for a week.”

“Not that I’m an expert on decomposition but it’s been warm and based on the smell that body could have been there for at least a day, maybe a few days. Not sure if he’s related to our first victim but how could it not? It would be too coincidental that you have two bodies here totally unrelated.”

“It’s also interesting how the bodies were found.” Lexa nodded towards the bathrooms. “His death was obviously very violent. Someone beat him and then cut him wide open. The woman looked like she was laying peacefully on the ground. No apparent injuries. If it is the same person or persons that did it was like her cared about her but was mad at him.”

“That is a very good observation.” Caitlin thought the same. “The medical examiner will have to determine cause of death on her since it’s not as obvious as this fellow.” Caitlin looked at the entrance to the camp ground when she heard gravel crunch under tires as other law enforcement vehicles drove in and parked next to Lexa’s truck. “Here we go.”

 

Clarke reached over and picked up the ringing phone on her desk. “This is Clarke Griffin.”

“Hi honey.”

Clarke smiled as she heard her wife’s voice. “Lexa, it’s good to hear your voice. I was hoping you would get a chance to call.” She softened her voice. “How are you holding up?”

“To answer that accurately would take more time than what I have.” Lexa sighed. “I’m not going to be home on time tonight.”

“I was wondering with what is going on there if you would. I heard them call out another ambulance for another DOA.” Clarke placed a hand on her stomach. Since she had learned about the first body she had been worried about her wife. She knew Lexa could handle whatever the situation was but that didn’t stop her from being concerned or helped the upset stomach she had.

“Yeah it’s bad. I just wanted to let you know for sure…and to hear your voice.” Lexa licked her dry lips. “I don’t know what time it will be when I get home. I don’t want you to worry about me or wait up. Get some sleep.” Lexa was in her truck away from the activity by the bathrooms where it was quiet so she would able to take a few moments to take a few breaths and center herself before calling Clarke. Her forearm was currently rested against the steering wheel and her head was pressed against her arm.

“I can’t help but worry about you and I can’t make any promises on sleeping. Come home when you can and we can talk about it if you want.” Clarke wished she was there so she could at least give Lexa a hug. “I love you.”

Lexa smiled and lifted her head up. “I love you too.” She saw Caitlin wave at her. “I have to go. I will talk to you soon.”

“If I’m sleeping when you get home I do want you to wake me okay?” Clarke requested, pushing back in her chair as she got ready to stand up.

“Clarke, no you need-“

“Wake me. I mean it.” Clarke frown and her eyebrows drew together. “Please.”

“Okay,” Lexa sighed, giving in. “I will. Now I have to really get going. I will talk to you later.”

“Be safe love.” Clarke ended the call and then scrolled through her contacts till she came to her mother’s name and she placed the call.


	17. Chapter 17

 

Lexa wasn’t surprised to see her mother in law’s car in their driveway. Abby and Clarke had always seemed close but since Clarke’s pregnancy they had become closer. Lexa was grateful that Abby was there for Clarke. A part of her felt guilty at not being home as much as she would have liked. With Gus’ heart attack and the craziness happening at the park lately she felt like she wasn’t there for her wife much which only added to the stress she was currently feeling.

Abby knew that Lexa was home. Even if she hadn’t heard the garage door go up. Catnip, who had been sleeping on the back of the couch had heard the car and had jumped down right onto Abby stomach before she took off to the kitchen. She sat up on the couch as the back door opened and looked at the clock on the cable box whose blue numbers produced a small amount of light in the darkened living room. It was three twenty in the morning. In the kitchen the light above the stove was left on so when Lexa got home, whatever time that was going to be, she would be able to see coming into the house. That light helped Abby also gave Abby a good look at her daughter in law. Even from this distance she could see that Lexa was exhausted and moving slowly.

“Hey you two,” Lexa whispered. “Miss me?”

As Abby stood up she saw that Lexa had lowered herself to the floor. Abby’s socked feet were quiet as she walked closer to the kitchen. Moving to the right side of the kitchen island she saw Lexa sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around Max in a hug. Lexa look up as she approached. There were dark circles underneath her eyes and it looked like she could barely keep her eyes open. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Lexa said, allowing Max to lick her face and neck as she scratched him behind his ears. Catnip was rubbing her face along her stretched out right leg. “It’s been a hell of a day.”

Abby moved closer and leaned against the edge of the island. “I can imagine. Do you want to talk about it?”

Lexa shook her head. “Not right now, thanks.” She reached down and started petting Catnip. “What time did Clarke get to bed?”

“I made her lay down around nine.” Abby tilted her head towards the stove. “Are you hungry? I can fix you something.”

Lexa shook her head. The image of the gutted man who turned out to be Dawson Brooks still burned in her mind along with the millions of unanswered questions regarding his death and the yet to be identified young woman that was also found. “I don’t think I will ever want to eat again.”

“I understand that, believe me,” Abby said, smiling in sympathy. “There were many shifts after a particularly busy night in the emergency room that I never wanted to eat either.”

Lexa nodded as she continued to stroke her pet’s fur. “How is she doing today…Clarke…how was she today?”

Dark brown eyes took in Lexa’s need to be comforted and connected to her pets. Clarke had only told her that two bodies had been found at the park and that it had been pretty bad. Their discovery and the long hours that she just put in would undoubtedly have an effect on Lexa. “She was fine. Concerned about you and hoping that you were okay. You’re doing okay right?”

“I guess.” Lexa shrugged noncommitting. “I know I’m super tired and honestly feel like shit.” With a final pat to Max’s and Catnip’s furry heads she slowly got to her feet. Upon standing up a wave of dizziness came over and she held onto the counter to keep her balance. “Whoa.”

Seeing Lexa go off balance Abby moved in and with one hand on Lexa’s arm and another one around her waist she moved her to one of the chairs that sat on one side of the island. “You sit yourself down right here.” Once Lexa was seated she moved over to the kitchen sink and got Lexa a glass of water. Taking Lexa’s wrist she felt for her pulse. While doing so she also noticed Lexa’s skin temperature. Lexa’s face was drawn out and pale. The skin at her wrist was cool but not dangerously so. After noting that the rate and strength of Lexa’s pulse was good she patted Lexa on the shoulder. “Drink your water and I will be right back.”

Lexa nodded as she leaned her forearms onto the counter. Picking up the glass of water she took a sip. Her stomached rumbled in hunger but the thought of eating anything made her nauseous. She knew that Abby was going to go get Clarke’s spare jump kit. The kit contained anything that Clarke would need within the first ten minutes of responding to a call. Lexa was sure that Abby wasn’t going to leave till she made sure she was okay and there was no way that she could tell Abby no. If she did Lexa was sure Abby would wake up her daughter and tell her what a stubborn woman her wife was and then she would have to go through the exam anyway. It was much harder to tell Clarke no. This way Clarke could continue to rest, Lexa would make Abby happy and she would make sure she was okay, though for the most part, aside from being tired and hungry she felt okay. At least physically.

“Let me get you checked out and make sure your fine before I go.” Abby placed the large orange bag onto the counter and began unzipping it. Opening the flap she reached in and picked up the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. She smile at Lexa as she pulled the Velcro of the cuff open. “You knew I wasn’t going to leave before I did this right?”

Lexa stuck out her left arm so Abby could wrap the blood pressure cuff around it. “I’d fall on the floor in shock if you did.”

“If I left and you fell and cracked your head open Clarke would be very unhappy with me.” Picking up the stethoscope “Plus I kind of like you and want to make sure you’re okay.” Abby grinned as she put the stethoscope’s ear pieces in her ear.

Lexa waited patiently and sat still as the blood pressure cuff tightened around her arm. Catnip jumped onto the counter and began rubbing her head on Lexa’s hand where it sat on the table. She stuck out her index finger to light scratch behind Catnip’s ear which increased the cat’s purring.

“Your blood pressure is good,” Abby said as she deflated the cuff. Using the stethoscope she listened to Lexa’s heart and lung sounds.

Lexa closed her eyes as Abby continued the exam and answered the doctor’s questions. _I just want to crawl into bed next to Clarke and sleep for a week_. Finally Abby was done and she opened her eyes. “What’s the verdict?”

Abby began putting the equipment away. “All your vitals are good. Your blood sugar is fine. I would recommend you eat something and get some rest.”

“I’ll drink some orange juice.” Lexa said, sliding off the chair. She seemed to be more solid on her feet this time as she walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of orange juice. Pouring herself a glass she heard Abby returning the jump kit to the hall closet.

“I’m going to head home now,” Abby announced, coming back into the kitchen. She picked up her keys from the counter. “If you need anything give me a call…and if you want to talk about what happened tonight remember you can talk to Clarke or myself. We’ve seen it all.”

“Thank you, I will keep that in mind. Also thanks for coming out.” Lexa put the empty glass in the sink and then walked her mother in law to the door. “Drive safe.”

“Thanks, get some rest and I will talk to you later.”

“Night,” Lexa said, then looked down at Max. “You need to go out there puppy?” Max’s tail started wagging more frequently and he moved closer to the door. “I take that as a yes.”

 

Lexa quickly washed her hair and body as she tried to get rid of the stink and the images that plagued her mind. She hoped that they would get washed down the drain along with the soap and water. The water’s heat helped warm her up and relax her further. She knew what she saw would be on her mind for some time to come. The crime scenes were not something that one could easily forget.

Getting out of the shower she dried off then brushed her teeth. She had removed her contacts before getting into the shower. Her eyes felt like they had grit in them after wearing them for so long and she was relieved to have taken them out. Dark, tired green eyes stared back at her in the mirror as she brushed. Lexa was exhausted but she didn’t want to get into bed with Clarke while smelling of work… while smelling of death. She didn’t want that anywhere close to Clarke and their baby. She chuckled to herself as she rinsed out her mouth. _Clarke sees this shit a lot more than you do Lex. She gets in there and gets her hands dirty. Least you didn’t have to touch that guy._ That had been the job of the county crime scene technicians, the medical examiner and his crew. Just that thought made her admire what those in the medical field did every day. What Clarke did every day.

Lexa hadn’t done much but make sure that law enforcement had access to whatever they needed and helped provide information and direction around the park. She and the other rangers had helped make it possible to interview all of those people who were camping or fishing. The majority of campers decided to leave once they were cleared.

After all the buildings had been searched, people interviewed, the bodies removed and all the evidence gathered it was three in the morning. All Lexa wanted to do at that point was get home to someplace warm and familiar. Home to the woman that she loved and the reason there was a smile on her face.

Lexa walked naked into their bedroom. It was well after four in the morning. Lifting up the covers Lexa crawled underneath and slid close to Clarke’s warm soft body. Lexa wrapped and arm around Clarke’s waist, her fingers splayed out over the roundness of Clarke’s belly. Moving her face closer to the back of Clarke’s neck she inhaled the strawberry scent of Clarke’s shampoo. Letting out a sigh she began gently rubbing circles on Clarke’s belly and kissed her shoulders. Clarke had wanted to be woken up when she got home, but even if she was successful at rousing Clarke, Lexa didn’t have the energy to do much talking.

Moving her mouth up close to Clarke’s ear she gently said, “Clarke.” When there was no response she cleared her voice and tried again. “Clarke,” she said a little louder.

Clarke’s breathing pattern changed and she gently stretched her body as she heard Lexa’s voice. “Lexa…your home…what time is it?”

“Late…or early depending on how you look at it. Go back to sleep love. We can talk later.”

Clarke reached back and placed her hand on Lexa’s thigh. “You sure?”

“Yes, Anya is working for me today. She will call if there is any emergencies.” _I hope there won’t be_. Lexa kept the gentle motion of rubbing Clarke’s stomach, hoping that it would help Clarke go back to sleep. “Get some more rest baby.”

“Okay.” Clarke let out a sigh and wiggled her butt closer to Lexa’s pelvis. “If you’re sure. Love you.” Clarke moved her hand to cover Lexa’s as it rested on her stomach.

Lexa felt Clarke take her hand and give it a small squeeze. “I love you too.” Closing her eyes Lexa listened to Clarke’s breathing as her wife easily went back to sleep. Usually Clarke would have fully woken up immediately due to her many years being brought out of sleep by an alarm to respond to a call. Since being pregnant Clarke tired more easily and was slower to get up. Her own exhaustion won out and she soon followed Clarke in slumber.

 

As Lexa slowly came to her hand moved around the space where Clarke usually slept. Her hand touched nothing but the bed. Slowly her eyes opened and she looked at the empty space. Squinting she looked at the clock. It was eleven thirty in the morning. Rolling onto her back she heard the beginnings of some song begin to play. _Clarke must be home otherwise Catnip or Max learned to turn on the stereo._

Throwing the covers off Lexa sat up on the edge of the bed. Her stomach growled, reminding her that it had been a long time since she ate anything. Standing up she went to her dress and got out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Grabbing her glasses she headed out into the living room.

Clarke was sitting on the couch with her feet stretched out in front of her reading a book when Lexa walked into the room. “Hey you, I didn’t think you would be awake this early.” She sat the book aside as Lexa walked over and sat on the edge of the couch next to her.

“I couldn’t sleep anymore.” Lexa placed her hand on Clarke’s thigh. “Did you call in today?”

Clarke nodded. “Yes. I called Marcus when I got up. I wanted to be here when you woke up. In case you needed me and wanted to talk.”

Lexa looked down and her hand on Clarke’s thigh before looking up into clear blue eyes as she spoke the truth. “For the record I will always need you.”

Clarke smiled as she covered Lexa’s hand and squeezed. Good, because I need you too. Now my dear wife,” Clarke patted Lexa’s hand as she moved to get up. “You need to eat something. Dr. Griffin’s orders.”

Lexa moved off the couch and reached for Clarke’s hand, helping her up. “You talked to your mom?”

“Yes.” Now standing Clarke took the opportunity to hug Lexa. The hug was brief but it felt really nice to Clarke. She placed a small kiss on Lexa’s chin before stepping back and taking Lexa’s hand, leading her towards the kitchen. “She called about an hour or so to check on you. Are you experiencing any more dizziness?”

“No. I feel okay this morning. I probably stood up too fast last night and it had been a long time since I ate anything.”

“Well we are going to fix that right now.” Clarke pulled out a chair. “Take a seat and let me make us something.”

Lexa sat down in the chair knowing that it wouldn’t do her any good to argue. “Okay, but the thought of eating after yesterday makes my stomach all queasy,” Lexa admitted.

“I know.” Clarke smiled sympathetically and rubbed Lexa’s shoulder. “I’ve totally been there but if you don’t eat you’re going to feel worse.” Clarke moved to the refrigerator and opened the door to look at its contents. “I can make you some toast and eggs or how about some soup?” Clarke turned to face Lexa. “Pancakes?”

“You know pancakes sound really good right now. How about if I help you?” Lexa moved to stand but she saw Clarke shake her head so she sat back down.

Lexa watched Clarke move around the kitchen preparing to make them some lunch. Max moved from his doggie bed over to Lexa and placed his head in her lap. “Do you need to go out buddy?” Lexa asked, petting the top of Max’s head and his brown and blue eyes solemnly looked up at her. Lexa looked up at Clarke. “When did you go out last?”

“When I got up a few hours ago. Why don’t you take him out? I’ll call you when breakfast is done.”

“Okay, thanks hon.” Lexa stood up and walked over to Clarke who was standing by the stove and embraced her. “You know I so appreciate you and everything you do. I just wanted you to know that.”

Clarke tightened her arms around Lexa’s waist, prolonging the hug. “I know and I appreciate everything you do too. I’m glad we are home together today.”

“Me too.” Lexa said, kissing Clarke’s forehead soon followed by a slow kiss on the lips. Once the kiss ended Lexa cupped Clarke’s cheek lightly, offering Clarke a smile before turning towards the back door and leading Max out.

Clarke watched her go and then continued working on making the pancakes. They would eat then Clarke would see if Lexa was willing to talk. _I hope I can get her to talk. I’m used to seeing stuff like that…well maybe use to it is not the right word. I’ve been exposed to it more. I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing people broken and bleeding. Of people dead or dying. So we will talk. Then I think we should get out of the house and go do something fun. Get her mind off work for a little bit._ Clarke poured pancake batter into the skillet as she thought of some ideas for what they could do.


	18. Chapter 18

 

Lexa sat on the back porch steps as Max ran around from tree to tree in the back yard. The sun was out and it really was a beautiful day. _Wish I was awake enough to appreciate it._ Lexa watched several birds peck around the bird feeder she build last year A few birds sat on the edge of the feeder and some were on the ground making a meal out of the seed that fell from the bird feeder. She enjoyed sitting on the back porch and watching all the colorful birds as they flew down from the various trees in the back yard. Sometimes fighting over which one could eat at a certain time as they chased each other away. In the evenings she liked to sit out on the back porch with Clarke and Max to enjoy the cooler temperature and watch the birds and listen to their musical chirps. Several squirrels would often make an appearance and they got a kick out of watching them hop around the yard with their face close to the ground or chase each other around on the ground or circling up a tree. She had several pictures on her cell phone from adventurous squirrels who would climb the post the bird feeder sat on to get at the bird seed. Lexa had placed some corn out for the squirrels but that didn’t keep them out of the bird feeder. Not a squirrel was in sight right now. With Max out running and sniffing at everything they ran for the trees. A black squirrel sat on a low branch twitching its tail in indignation.

Lexa had left her cell phone inside. She was fighting the urge to call into the ranger station to see if there was anything new and how things were going. _Or Caitlyn gave me her card. I could always contact her and see if they knew anything more_. She shook her head, dismissing that idea. _I’m sure everyone is still busy right now._ She was curious about what was happening with the case. She hoped they had a suspect but she doubted it at this point. They didn’t have much to go in when she had left that morning and it was probably too soon for anything new to develop.

The idea that the killer was still at large created a knot of concern in Lexa’s stomach and that the two murders happened so close to the area that they made their home. The park being around only fifteen minutes away hit a little too close to for comfort. _Maybe I can talk Clarke into letting me take her to work and bring her home. At least for the time being._ Lexa ran her hand threw her hair in frustration so hard that she almost knocked her glasses off her face _. I hate this. Whatever bastard that did this corrupted the park. It could always have an element of risk with people drowning or getting hurt on a hike but this is beyond what I imagined I would have to deal with._ She rolled the wedding band around her ring finger her mind turning to Clarke and the baby that she carried _. I just want Clarke and the baby to be safe. I know I can’t stop every awful thing from happening but that doesn’t mean I’m going to want to stop trying to._

Lexa stood up, stretching and yawning as Max finally decided upon a spot to relieve himself. She called his name when he was done and he ran right over. “Good boy,” she said, leaning over and with both hands scratched behind the dog’s ears. Max’s butt wiggled which caused Lexa to laugh. “You like that huh?” Max barked once as Lexa stood up. “Would you be a good guard dog for mommy and bite someone in the ass that wasn’t supposed to be here?” She shook her head as Max licked her hand then sneezed. “I think you’re too much of a sweetie for that unless you planned on licking them to death.” She opened the door letting the dog go in first. “I think Catnip is more ferocious.”

 

Conversation was minimal during breakfast. Lexa wanted to be able to pay more attention to Clarke but she was still tired and her mind kept replaying the previous day. Two people died at the park _. Her_ park. She had to deal with the police with their needs for investigation as well as the campers and boaters that were unhappy at being investigated. There were many questions and concerns from her own staff. Questions she didn’t have the answers to. Several of her supervisors had arrived and she had spent many hours in meetings with them that went late into the evening. They were worried about how the publicity of the killings would affect people’s sense of safety in the usage of the park and any negativity that would come from it. After they left she stayed in case the police, who were still gathering evidence needed anything. Of course she had wanted to know what was happening as well. This was her park and she felt she was ultimately responsible for it.

Clarke occasionally peeked at Lexa who was slowly eating. She noticed Lexa’s furrowed brow which indicated that Lexa was in deep thought. Her wife’s reticent to talk was normal. She knew Lexa would talk when she was ready and the best thing she could do to support her right now was to give her the space to work out whatever it was she was thinking about _. I know this is what she needs right now though it’s so hard for me to sit and do nothing. I want to fix whatever is wrong and put a smile back on her face._ Clarke glanced at Lexa again. _At least she is eating_.

Lexa moved the last piece of pancake around on her plate to get more of the left over syrup. Max and Catnip sat close to the table hoping to get any scraps or to lick a plate clean. With the last of her pancakes gone she looked to see if Clarke was finished and picked up her empty plate, sharing a small smile before taking the plate to the sink to be rinsed off. She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch when Clarke moved up behind her and placed a hand on the small of her back, gently moving in circles. “That feels good.” Lexa tried to will herself to relax the tension in her back she was sure Clarke could feel.

“I agree.” Clarke began moving her hand up higher on Lexa’s back. “What would you like to do now? We could sit and talk, watch TV or get out of here for a while?”

Lexa turned to face Clarke and wrapped her arms her wife’s waist. Clarke’s baby bump brushed up against her own abdomen. Lexa grimaced and her face was apologetic. “Would you be terribly mad if I laid back down? I’m still really tired.”

“Of course not.” Clarke’s fingers found their way underneath the back of Lexa’s shirt and she gently stroked the soft skin she found there. “I was surprised you got up when you did actually.”

“Do you think you could lay down with me, just for a little while?” Lexa asked hopefully. “Will that be okay?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” Clarke brought her hands forward and slide them down Lexa’s flat abdomen. “I’ll stay with you till you fall asleep.”

Lexa leaned in and kissed Clarke on her forehead then pulled her into a hug. “Give me a couple more hours of sleep and then we can go do something. Have dinner out.” Lexa tilted her head forward and placed a small kiss on Clarke’s lips. “Whatever you want.”

“I’ll have some ideas by the time you wake up.” Clarke smiled as she took Lexa by the hand and led her to the bedroom. “Let’s get you tucked back into bed.” She pulled the covers back allowing Lexa to climb into the bed as she walked around to her side and climbed in. Once she was close enough to Lexa she reached down and pulled the covers up over them both.

“Thank you,” Lexa said quietly. She reached for Clarke’s hand, wanting the physical contact. “Figure out what you want to do and we will take advantage of our day off.” Lexa’s mouth then opened up into a big yawn. She let out a long sigh as she picked up Clarke’s hand and brought it to her lips, placing a small kiss on Clarke’s knuckles. The light reducing curtains blocked most of the light coming into the bedroom but Lexa could still make out Clarke’s features and she laid there staring as they faced each other.

Clarke waited for a few moment to see if Lexa was going to say anything or if she was going to eventually close her eyes and fall asleep. When Lexa continued to look at her she spoke, her voice strong but soft and masking her concern. “You’re probably going to get tired of me asking but are you okay?” Clarke moved her thumb back and forth over the back of Lexa’s hand.

Lexa propped her head up onto her free arm. She let go of Clarke’s and reached down to touch Clarke’s belly. Something she did often even before her wife started really showing. “You know you are my world right? That you are the most important person to me?” She patted Clarke’s belly before her hand resumed its gentle back and forth movements. “That she or he will be everything to me as well?”

Clarke covered Lexa’s hand with her own and her lips curved into a tender smile. “You are our world too. I love you so much Lexa.” Clarke wished many times that she was able to share with Lexa this huge ball of happy she had inside since she came into her life. She felt that Lexa did know how much she loved her because Lexa felt the same way.

“I love you too,” Lexa said quietly. “More than what I can adequately express and to answer your question. I’m okay. I’m just…” Lexa bit her lip as she tried to think of the words she wanted to say.

“Just what?”

“I love you and I love our baby. I’m excited to see what he or she is going to do with their life and I want the best for them but I’m scared as well.” Lexa knew the question that Clarke was going to ask so she continued. “This world can be a very scary place and I really want to have kids but at the same time I’m nervous about bringing children into this world. I want to protect you and our children from all the bad that this world can bring.”

“I know baby.” Clarke moved closer to Lexa and wrapped her arm around her waist. Clarke bet that this was what was nagging at Lexa earlier. “I worry about that too. We have talked about it before and I think it’s a pretty common concern. What happened at the park shook you up. That off balance feeling is normal but it will get better.” Clarke shrugged one shoulder. “As you know I’ve been on some calls that were very difficult to deal with. Bad things happen to good people and sometimes things, horrible things, don’t make a damn bit of sense.”

“Yes, that is true.” Lexa recalled several times that she had held Clarke while listening to her process through devastating, heart breaking calls. She sighed as she reached up and slipped her hand into Clarke’s blonde hair. “I know I can’t control a lot of what is going on and I try to keep my focus on those things that I can actually do something about, but when it comes to you and our baby I want to do more. I want to go above and beyond.” She twirled several stands of Clarke’s hair around her index finger. “There are too many times that I’ve felt frustrated because I couldn’t do anything about something. I couldn’t fix the situation and make it better. I want so many good things for us.” Lexa released the bit of hair she had held and ran her fingers through the strands to try and straighten the slightly curled blonde locks. “I’m afraid I will be some overbearing parent and not let our kid do anything fun in order to keep them safe.”

Clarke squeezed Lexa’s hip and softly laughed. “Me too. I think I’ve overdone it on the research from what is the best diapers and how to baby proof your home. To when to introduce solid food all the way to what the latest education materials are available to help get your child ready for preschool. I even looked at the school districts website to see what their student policy and procedures manual said, especially when it came to issues like bullying as well as what extra-curricular activities were available.”

“Really?” Lexa’s eyes widened in amazement at the extent of research that Clarke had already done.

“Really,” Clarke said with a nod. “As far as the policy goes they do have a non-discrimination and anti-bullying policy. I just wanted to see if they had one in case that was a battle that we would have.”

“What else have you looked into?” Lexa eyebrows arched over her green eyes and had a small lazy smile spread across her face.

“Well,” Clarke laughed, thinking about all the time she spent on the computer. “I actually have lists upon lists of toys and sporting equipment.” Clarke’s eyes looked towards the darken ceiling as she tried to recall the different list she made. “Books, oh my god, the books on the list that I want to get for us to read to our baby. It’s extensive even without the box that mom had set aside for us with the books that she use to read to me.”

Lexa’s hand returned to Clarke’s belly. She remembered the evening they spent going through the three boxes of books that she had carried into the room that was to be the baby’s. They had sat on the floor going through the books that Abby had held onto over the years. They had a nice time looking through the books, sharing which ones they had both read and divulged which ones were their favorites.

“I also have a list with all the arts and craft supplies that I would like to get,” Clarke admitted wistfully.

“I would love it if our kid was as creative as you.” Lexa’s eyes gazed softly at Clarke, amazed at the woman’s thoroughness. “You are scary talented.”

“Thanks sweetie.” Clarke nodded slightly, appreciating the complement. “I would love it if our child shared that interest with me but honestly, and I know its cliché, but I’m going to be happy as long as our child is happy and healthy.” She reached up and tapped Lexa lightly on the nose with her finger. “And you. You are going to be a great mom.” Clarke offered Lexa a reassuring smile. “We both are.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and took a deep breath and slowly letting it out. She knew they had this. “I know you’re right. We are going to be awesome parents. We have a lot of positive things to teach our kid and they will be loved and supported. I will work to make sure that we are happy, safe and have everything we need.”

“Me too,” Clarke said, leaning slightly closer to Lexa, eyebrows lifted in emphasis. “However, my dear. You need to get some rest.” Clarke had noticed while Lexa was awake and talking her eyes were slightly droopy and her voice was huskier, which Clarke found sexy. And while she was enjoying the conversation she knew that Lexa needed to get more sleep.

Lexa wrapped her arm around Clarke’s waist. “True. I do. But I have to say lying here with you, talking, has helped.” Her lips quirked up in another smile. “I can’t say that I’m less worried than what I was before but I know you and I can handle anything that comes at us.” Lexa absently bit her lip, lost in thought for a moment. “I also know I still have to process what happened at the park and everything. I will, eventually,” she said with a chuckle. “Talking with you makes me feel better and I know you will be here when I do want to talk about it more.”

“Always, love.” Clarke reached over and brushed her fingers along the center Lexa’s abdomen. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”

“Happily.” Lexa stretched out her legs and yawned. “You’re stuck with me too.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Clarke moved her pillow to a more comfortable position. When Lexa turned onto her other side she scooted as close as she could get to her and draped her arm over Lexa waist. “Comfy?”

“Yeah.” Lexa rested her arm next to Clarke and closed her eyes. “You will wake me up in a couple of hours?”

“Yes.” Clarke leaned forward and kissed the back of Lexa’s shoulder. “Rest now babe.” Clarke relaxed her body, thinking a nap might be a good idea but she wasn’t overly tired just yet.

Clarke listened to Lexa’s breathing and with her arm across Lexa’s waist she could feel the gentle rise and fall of her inhalations and exhalations. She laid there listening for several minutes and thinking. She understood all of Lexa’s thoughts and concerns. She shared them. They had many conversations about their anxieties and fears as well as their joys. Vulnerability wasn’t easy for either one of them but being honest with their feelings helped them to increase the connection they had. A connection that was already pretty strong to begin with. Dealing with things and being there for each other, no matter the crisis that was rearing its ugly head was something that they did well, and no matter what the future brought to them they would face it. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took a while to get an update. Unfortunately all my other stories had to wait for an update too. I was really sick for about a month, which sucked. I couldn't focus on writing. The good news is I'm healthy once again and am back to working on updates. Thanks for reading.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a while to get an update and then I end it in a weird spot. I have some things that I wanted to include, which will pick up on the next update. I just wanted to make sure I got something posted since it has been a long time. Thanks for reading.

 

Lexa green eyes examined the area where the young woman had been found. Two weeks had passed since the body had been located and two weeks of no further answers to what had happened. The barriers to the trail and to the bathrooms had been taken down. The Sheriff’s department had cleaned up the scenes and if it wasn’t for the memory of what had happened and the crushed grass and movement of the earth by booted feet and equipment Lexa wouldn’t have known that two weeks prior that there had been two major crime scenes at the park.

During the first week after the gruesome discoveries there had been an increase in traffic to the park. She surmised that people were trying to get in to catch a glimpse of what had happened only to be told by the Sheriff’s Department to move on. Late in the second week things had died down and returned to mostly normal.

There were no new updates on the crime. She knew that the Sheriff’s department had collected all the evidence that they could find and had released the crime scene. No arrests had been made and no suspects. The identity of the woman that had been found was still unknown.

Lexa’s jaw was clenched tight as she turned on her heal and headed back towards her truck. Hating that there was so many unknowns and the person responsible was out there, free to hurt someone else.

She slid into the seat of the truck and checked her watch. Thirty minutes and she got to go home.

_I just want to go to bed but Abby and Jake are coming over for dinner._

To say she was exhausted was an understatement. Several nights this past two weeks she had woken up multiple times during the night. The dreams that she was having causing her to jerk awake, sometimes waking Clarke. Some nights Clarke soothed her back to sleep with kind words and a loving touch. Then there were one or two nights where Clarke grumbled, said something that Lexa didn’t quite catch, and rolled over on her other side. Those nights took her longer to get back to sleep.

Clarke had be apologetic those mornings after finding her stretched out on the couch. She knew that Clarke didn’t mean to be dismissive. That Clarke herself was dealing with her own exhaustion from work and the pregnancy and her wife wasn’t really awake at the time. Still, she found herself more times than not lying awake longer than what she wanted only to fall asleep when it was close to the time she was supposed to get up.

Ten minutes later she pulled into the ranger station. Anya’s car was in the parking lot next to Luna’s.

_At least I don’t have to wait for my relief to get here._

She parked and climbed the steps two at a time, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a yawn as she walked into the ranger station.

“Looks like someone needs a nap,” Anya said with a teasing grin on her face. She noticed that Lexa had been looking more and more tired when she came in to relieve her. “What are you going to do when the baby is here and keeps you awake?”

Lexa looked at both Anya and Luna blankly until her tired brain caught up to what Anya said then she gave both women a hard look as she stalked towards the desk where they sat. She placed her hands firmly on the desk eyeing both Luna and Anya. Finally she was only looking at Anya and raise a single eyebrow. “I thought we would take a drive over to your place and have Aunt Anya babysit.” She saw Anya’s eyes widened and then Anya laughed. “No?”

“That would be a no. You’re full of shit. Clarke wouldn’t let that baby out of her sight and I’m betting you wouldn’t either.”

Lexa’s lips twitched as she tried to keep a straight face. Finally she smiled and stepped back from the desk and walked over to her own. Looking at her watch she could see that she had ten minutes before she clocked out. Sitting down in her chair she leaned back and regarded the two women who were still looking at her, waiting for her to comment. Slowly shaking her head all she could do was agree with them. “Yeah who am I trying to kid.” She picked up a pencil and began tapping the eraser on the desk.

“Are you feeling alright?” Anya asked. “Those dark circles under your eyes look better on a raccoon then they do you.”

Flabbergasted by what Anya said Luna elbowed the other woman in the ribs. “Anya. That wasn’t very nice.”

“Hey, cut that out.” Anya grabbed her side where she was jabbed in the ribs. “I’m just asking if she is doing okay because she really doesn’t look like she is okay.”

“Luna, please don’t hurt Anya. The paperwork I have to fill out is a pain in the ass. Anya,” Lexa sighed, getting to her feet. “I’m fine. I’m not sleeping well. That’s all.” She walked towards the door. “I’m going to go ahead and get out of here. Have a good weekend and I will see you next week.”

Anya watched her boss walk out the door as she continued to rub her side. “That really hurt, you know.”

“What a little poke in your side?” Luna scooted back in her chair and stood. “You’ll live.” She walked over to the coffee pot and brought it back and refilled both of their coffee mugs. “You’re right though, she does look tired.”

Anya glanced up at Luna and nodded her thanks for the coffee. “I think we all are having problems sleeping lately, not just because of the bodies that were found. Seems like every day there is more and more horrible things being reported in the news. Our government is fucked and scandal ridden, people are being so unkind to each other and there seems to be no common sense anymore.” She took a careful sip of her coffee. “I had to stop watching the news and getting online because it makes me angry all the time.”

Luna returned the coffee pot and sat down at her desk. “Taking a break from the news and social media is probably a good thing.” She picked up her coffee cup. “Getting out and having fun is important too. When was the last time you did anything fun?”

“Me?” Anya sighed and looked towards the ceiling in thought. “Not for a long while. With everything that has been happening here and with Gus’ heart attack I’ve been getting more hours. There is a cruise that I really want to go on. That will be fun.”

“How do you relax now then?”

“Sleep.” Anya laughed. “I don’t know. I think we all could use a vacation.”

Luna had an idea but she didn’t know if Anya would go for it. “It’s not really a vacation but I have two gift certificates, one for me and one for a guest to go to the new casino. If you don’t like to gamble that is okay too. They have some nice restaurants, and other games like mini golf, go carts, and video games. There is a spa too.”

“Are you asking me if I want to go with you?” Anya asked the younger woman. _Aw she is squirming in her seat. How cute._

“Yeah, if you would like to go. We could get a room with two queen beds and share the cost.” Luna smiled knowing Anya was thinking about it. “You could sleep all day if you wanted.” She shrugged. “Think about it. It’s only for one night but it might be nice to get away.”

“I will do that.” Anya poured the rest of her coffee into a portable coffee cup and screwed the lid on. “Thanks, I’ll let you know.”

Luna hoped that Anya would agree to go. It would be nice to have someone to go with. “You do that.”

 

Clarke finished getting dressed as she heard the back door open. _Lexa’s home_. She looked at herself in the mirror and ran a brush through her hair one last time. _I guess I don’t look too bad_. She was wearing one of the new outfits that she had bought after she grew out of her old clothes. Even her biggest and most favorite shirt stretched too tightly across her growing abdomen. Setting down the brush she smiled as Lexa came into the bedroom. “Hey baby.”

Lexa’s heart swelled as she stepping into the bedroom and looked at Clarke standing in front of the mirror. _Wow, she is so beautiful_. Just the sight of Clarke energized her and she forgot how tired she was moments before. Walking over to her wife she wrapped her arms around her from behind. “Hi baby, or actually babies.” She patted Clarke’s stomach and nuzzled her face in the blonde’s neck. “God you smell so good. How was your day today?”

Clarke turned around in Lexa’s arms and planted a big kiss on extremely soft and willing lips. She pressed her head against Lexa’s and sighed. “Much better since you got home.”

“I’m much better now that I’m home with you too and we have a few days off together.” Lexa continued to rub Clarke’s lower back as she put a little space between them. “Long day?”

“You could say that.” Clarke leaned in and kissed Lexa’s nose before stepping away and walking over to the bed. Sitting down she started putting on her shoes and sharing with Lexa about her hectic day. “But the really big thing that happened today was we had a call for a field fire just outside of town. Marcus was excited because they would get a chance to take out the new brush truck. You know how we like our toys. Anyway they get just north of town and this State Trooper blows through the stop sign, pulls out in front of them and Marcus and Bellamy end up hitting him. Our truck ended partially on top of police car.”

“Wow,” Lexa said, coming to sit next to Clarke on the bed. “Was everyone okay?”

“Shaken up but yes, everyone was okay. The engine and one tanker was in front of Marcus and they kept going. Raven stopped. She was driving one of the older brush trucks and was behind Marcus and Bellamy. Fortunately she was able to stop and not hit them. She called it in and made sure everyone as alright. We sent an ambulance just in case but no injuries. The police car was totaled _.” It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving State Trooper._ Clarke didn’t particularly care for John Holder. She thought he was a sexist, racists, homophobic man and she was glad that she wasn’t there at the accident. Though from what Bellamy had told her he was doing a lot of sweating, swearing and worried about how much trouble he was going to be in. _I wouldn’t have minded seeing that_.

Clarke smiled as Lexa placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed it briefly, offering some comfort. “The new brush truck, the one we fought the city so hard for to get, was undrivable. There is some front end damage and everything is tore up underneath. The rear axle is broke.” She shook her head. “It’s a shame. We just got it and now we have to send it back to get it fixed. I am glad that everyone is okay though. It could have been much worse.”

Lexa had a hard time wrapping her mind around the poor decision by the trooper. “You were responding lights and siren so how did he not see you all?”

Clarke had wondered the same thing when she went to check on Bellamy and got more details about what happened. “According to Bellamy, Holder said that he thought he would be able to make the corner and speed up enough to not get hit. He underestimated.”

“He was the one blew through a stop sign and he didn’t yield. It’s his fault the accident happened. Right?”

Clarke nodded her head. “Oh, yes it is his fault and the state’s insurance will have to pay to fix our truck. Though I don’t foresee us getting reimbursed quickly.”

Lexa wrapped her arm around Clarke and leaned her head against hers. She closed her eyes and absorbed the warm feelings she always got when she was close to Clarke. “I’m sorry that happened. It sucks and I’m glad everyone is okay. Trucks can be replaced. Lives can’t. I’m sure that it wasn’t easy for you to listen to what was going on over the radio.”

Clarke lips moved in a quick smile. _So true_. It wasn’t easy, and hadn’t been for some time, to sit back and not do anything when her friends and coworkers were in a bad situation and she couldn’t do anything. The few minutes that it took for everyone to radio in and say they were okay was grueling. She had stopped work and stared at the radio waiting, barely breathing till it was reported that everyone was okay. The whole situation hadn’t helped the headache that she had been having all day. “No, it wasn’t easy,” she admitted.

“My day was nowhere near as bad as yours we got started on…” The doorbell rang interrupting what Lexa was going to say next. “Your mom and dad are here.”

“Tell me about your day later.” Clarke leaned in and brushed her lips against Lexa’s before standing up. She felt herself go off balance but Lexa was there to keep her from toppling over.

“Easy there,” Lexa said, rubbing Clarke’s shoulders.

“Thanks for making sure I didn’t fall on my face.” Clarke laughed and ran her fingers through her hair. “My center of gravity is so off.”

“I understand.” The doorbell rang again and Max, who was usually quiet, barked. “Let me go let your parents in. You okay?”

“Yeah go ahead. I’m really glad they are here too. The baby and I are hungry.”

With a smile and a backward glance Lexa left the bedroom and went to the front door. “Max, go lay down.” Lexa waited till their dog moved back over to his doggie bed then unlocked an opened the door. She smiled at Abby and Jake. “Hi.” She held the door open so they could walk through.

“Hello,” Abby said, walking in first, giving Lexa a quick hug. “It smells amazing in here.”

“That would be Clarke’s lasagna. Hello Jake.” Lexa returned Clarke’s father’s one armed hug.

“Lexa, how are you doing?” Jake asked, reaching down to pet Max who came over to great him with a rapidly wagging tail. “Hi puppy.”

Lexa closed the door. “I’m good, how about yourself?” She smiled as Clarke walked towards them after giving her mother a hug.

“Can’t complain.” Jake straightened up as Clarke moved in to give him a hug. He kissed her on the cheek. “And how is my little girl?”

“I’m good dad. I’m glad you two could come over tonight.” Clarke took her father’s and Lexa’s hand and walked them towards the kitchen. “Dinner should be about done.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a long time. If I have been writing I've been working on original fiction. Rest assured I'm not abandoning any of the stories. Thanks for reading and your comments.

 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Lexa asked, reaching out to push back a strand of Clarke’s hair that came free from her pony tail. “I can still run you home and make it back in time for the game.”

Clarke shook her head. “I’m fine, really. Don’t worry. If I feel like I’m getting overheated I will come back to the truck and sit in the air conditioning.”

“Okay.” Lexa reluctantly reached up and turned the truck off. Preparing herself from leaving the icy coolness the air conditioner provided and exiting the vehicle to get out in the oppressive August heat.

Clarke got out of the truck and came around to the driver side as Lexa was pulling out a large cooler from the back seat. She picked up a smaller cooler that held some ice and some water for her.

“Here let us help you with that,” Vesta said, coming across the parking lot with Billy and Ryan trailing her. “Think you boys can carry the cooler?”

“Yes.” Billy flexed his biceps. “I’m pretty strong.”

“I am too,” Ryan said, mimicking his brother.

“Okay, you guys carry the cooler over to the dugout. I’ll grab the bats.” Lexa looked out on the field. “Where is Becky?”

“She is on the other side of the concession stand playing catch with Jeremy.” Vesta reached for the cooler Clarke was holding. “I’ll take this.”

Clarke’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t have to carry it Vesta. It’s not that heavy.”

“Humor me,” Vesta replied taking the cooler. “You will learn that if someone is willing to carry something for you or hold your kid to give you a little break you take it.”

“Okay.” Clarke looked at Lexa and gave her wife a small smile. She patted her stomach. “Guess I will just carry this little one.”

Lexa extended her hand out for Clarke to take and then led them over towards the bleachers. “How about a spot in the shade?”

“Yeah, that would be great.” Clarke stepped up onto the bleachers under the watchful eyes and helpful hand of her wife, taking a seat on the third row from the bottom. She tugged Lexa forward, pulling her closer for a kiss. “Have a great game baby.”

“Thanks, and…”

“If I get too hot I will go sit in the truck. Don’t worry. It’s hot out here but not that hot.”

Vesta caught the apprehensive look that Lexa gave Clarke. “I’ll look after her,” she said, patting Clarke’s knee.

Lexa glanced towards the field then back at the two women. She shrugged and gave them a crooked smile. “I know I’m being a worry wart.”

“Yes you are,” Clarke agreed. “I love you.” She smiled and nodded towards the gathering kids by the dugout. “I’m fine, the baby is fine. This is your last game of the season coach. Go have fun.”

“I love you.” Lexa returned the smile and with a small wave she turned and walked towards the team.

“So how are you? Everything going well with the pregnancy?” Vesta asked while spotting her two boys walking towards the bleachers.

“Fine. I don’t have morning sickness anymore and feel pretty good most of the time. My back hurts a little now and sometimes I’m off balance, but then with my weight gain it’s to be expected.” Clarke unzipped her cooler and pulled out a bottle of water and handed one to Vesta before taking one herself.

Vesta cracked the seal on the cap and then took a drink. “How far along are you now?”

“Twenty four weeks.” Clarke’s attention was drawn towards Becky’s team as they took the field. “I can’t believe this is the last game.”

“I know. Becky is really sad that the season is over.” Vesta placed the bottle of water down in front of her. “Don’t tell her but I’m kind of glad that it’s over and that school will be starting again soon.”

“Mom can we get some money to get something to drink and eat?” Ryan asked with a hopeful smile.

“Sure, but no chocolate.” Vesta reached in her pocket and handed Ryan a few bills. The money was snatched out of her hand and the boys ran off towards the concession stand. “You’re welcome,” she called out to them, then shook her head as they kept going. “They are probably going to buy something chocolate and it will melt and get all over them. I swear they make twice as much laundry for me to do than the girls.”

“More than Becky even?”

“Yes. Don’t get me wrong she gets herself and her clothes dirty quite a bit but the boys are so much worse. Angela was always a really clean child. She hated getting dirty. The three youngest are different in that regard, though the boys seem to attract stains no matter what they do.”

Clarke placed her hand over her stomach. “Guess I will be dealing with that soon enough.”

“Yes, my dear you will.”

 

Lexa took off her sunglasses and wiped the moisture away from her eyes. Her shirt stuck to her skin and was damp with sweat. _Thankfully this is the last inning._ Her team was ahead by two points. Both teams were getting tired and irritated. She clapped her hand as a small boy stepped up to the plate. “Okay Mikey, you got this buddy.” She quickly glanced over at Clarke and Vesta for what seemed like the millionth time to check on her wife. “Keep your eye on the ball,” she said, bringing her attention back to the player. Clarke was still sitting in the bleachers cheering on the team and she hoped she wasn’t getting overheated. “Run,” she yelled as Mikey made contact with the ball and his little legs propelled him towards first base. Lexa quickly moved out of the way as a wild throw came directly at her, hitting the fence. The kid on first base quickly moved to get the ball. She motioned for Mikey to stop at first. “Good job buddy.” She held up her hand for Mikey to slap. He slapped her hand so hard that it stung. “Now there are no outs so if the ball is hit on the ground run as fast as you can to second. If it’s in the air don’t run all the way to the base till you see if the ball is caught. If it is caught get back to first base okay?” Lexa smiled as the little boy nodded and got in position to run. She stepped back and looked toward home plate. “Alright Anna, bring him home.” Scanning the bleachers, her gaze settled back onto Clarke before she quickly brought her attention back to Anna who made contact with the ball. “Run Anna, run.” Lexa frantically waved and jumped up and down.

 

“You know if I had a dollar for every time that Lexa looked over here at you I could take myself and the kids out to a really nice dinner,” Vesta said, elbowing Clarke in the arm.

“If we notice her looking at us that means we are watching her too.” Clarke laughed, wiping a cold wet washrag on the back of her neck. _She is so sexy. That shirt is clinging to her in all the right places_. Clarke shook her head to clear her thoughts that threatened to go down a naughty path. “She is just being over protective.”

Vesta shifted so she was facing Clarke raising a single eyebrow. “As if you wouldn’t do the exact same thing if she was the one pregnant.”

“Hell yes I would be.” Clarke laughed. “I’d be doing a set of vitals on her and a physical exam anytime she said she didn’t feel good.”

“I don’t believe that is very far from the truth.” Vesta frowned as her daughter’s team got its last out leaving Becky in the batter’s box. ”We don’t get to see her hit again.” Vesta sighed, her frown deepening. “I was hoping to see her hit one last time this season.”

Clarke patted Vesta on the back. “Yeah, that sucks, but she did well this game didn’t she?”

“She was awesome,” Vesta said proudly. She stood up and stretched. “I’m going to go wrangle up my boys. I promised Becky ice cream on the way home. How about you and Lexa join us?”

“That sounds like a great idea.” Clarke was sure it wouldn’t take any convincing to get Lexa to stop for ice cream. She looked on as Vesta stopped by the dugout on her way to the playground equipment. No doubt she was filling Lexa in on how she was doing. She smiled as Lexa made eye contact and gave her the thumbs up sign. Clarke wasn’t sure what that was about but she returned the sign. Draining the last of the water in her bottle she put it back in her cooler _. I wonder if I should go to the bathroom now or wait till we go get ice cream? Yeah, I should go now. Who knows how long the last half of the inning will take._ Clarke picked up her cooler and carefully made her way down from the bleachers.

Lexa gripped the fence tighter as she watched Clarke’s decent from the bleachers. Clarke moving down the bleachers on her own caused some mild stress. _Okay Lexa, it’s not like she is that high up on the bleachers. She’s got this._ She loosened her grip as Clarke made it to the ground safely. _See._ Lexa split her attention between what was happening on the field and Clarke. _Okay she is not heading towards the parking lot so she just needed to use the bathroom, right?_ Biting her lip Lexa let out a soft breath of air. _Vesta said she was fine and Clarke’s a big girl. If anything was the matter she would tell you._ She tried to turn her mind back to the game once Clarke reached the bathrooms.

 

For once Clarke was grateful for the icy water that was present in the ball field’s bathroom even when turning the hot water on. She splashed cold water on her face several times before drying her face off with a paper towel. Her almost too tight sweat dampened clothes didn’t feel good against her skin _. I can’t wait to get out of these clothes, take a shower, and slip into something large and soft._ She smiled as Lexa’s frame filled the doorway.

“Hey beautiful.”

“Hey yourself. Is the game over?” Clarke turned around, wadding up the paper towels and threw them in the trash. “We win?”

Lexa reached for Clarke’s hand. “Yeah, by two. Are you doing okay?”

“I’m good. Definitely ready to be in some air conditioning though. How are you?”

“Same.” Lexa nodded. Reaching into her shorts she pulled out her keys. “Vesta and the kids are going to meet us at the Dairy Bar if you’re still willing to go.” She reached down and picked up Clarke’s cooler and slung the strap over her shoulder.

Clarke gently squeezed Lexa’s hand. “Share a sundae with me?”

“Of course.” Lexa smiled, guiding them out of the bathroom. “Anything you want.”

 

“I think I froze my brain.” Becky moaned, holding her head.

“You shouldn’t have ate your ice cream so fast kiddo,” Vesta said, rubbing her daughter’s back.

“But it was so good and I was really hungry.” Becky stuck out her lower lip. “I played really really hard today and it was so hot.”

“Yes, you did baby and I’m really proud of you.” Vesta replied softly.

“Clarke and I are proud of you too.” Lexa said. “That last catch you made was awesome.”

Clarke shook her head. “I’m sorry I missed it.” She knew about the play. Lexa had filled her in on last half of the inning on the way to get ice cream.

“My butt still kind of hurts though.” Becky reached down and patted her behind. The last play of the game was a hard hit directly to her. She was able to catch the ball and hold onto it as she fell backward hitting the ground hard. “It came at me so fast. I’m really glad I caught the ball. I was ready for some ice cream.”

“Yeah, thanks for catching the ball butthead.” Billy said, threatening to flip a spoonful of ice cream at his brother. Ryan had a ketchup bottle aimed at him.

“You’re a butthead.” Becky’s eyes narrowed to slits as she looked at Billy.

“No one is a butthead and Billy either eat your ice cream or I’m going to throw it away.” Vesta said tiredly. “Ryan, put down the ketchup bottle. You all sit there and eat your ice cream or no video games tonight.”

Billy stuck the spoon of ice cream in his mouth and when his mother turned away he stuck out an ice cream coated tongue at Becky.

“That is so gross.” Becky rolled her eyes and looked away. “I’m ignoring you.”

The interaction didn’t go unnoticed by Clarke. She smiled at the sibling interaction, something that neither herself nor Lexa experienced growing up. She placed her hand over her midsection. _We are going to need to give you a brother or sister to grow up with._

“It feels so good to be home.” Clarke sighed, bracing herself against the kitchen counter she bent over to pet Max who was wiggling at their feet. “Hi Maxy.” She straightened and shivered. “All I want to do right now is get out of these clothes and get into the shower.”

“I’m in total agreement with you there.” Lexa placed the unused water bottles in the refrigerator. “Why don’t you go ahead and do that while I take Max out to potty.”

“Thanks babe. I appreciate you so much.” Clarke placed a quick kiss on Lexa’s lips.

“I appreciate you too.”

Clarke left the kitchen and heading towards the bedroom. Her damp stinky shirt came off quickly and was thrown in the laundry basket. “Oh my god.” Clarke said, removing her bra. “I’m glad to have that thing off.” She kicked off her shoes and with one had on her dresser she removed her socks with the other. Lastly she pulled off her shorts and underwear which also had become damp and uncomfortable. She stood naked in front of the mirror, turning left, then right as she looked at her swollen belly and fuller breasts.

Lexa stood in the doorway quietly observing Clarke. “You’re beautiful.”

Clarke looked over her shoulder and gave her wife a small smile. “You keep saying that.”

Lexa stepped further into the room. “Because it’s true.”

“Did you take Max out already?”

“No. I came in to see if you needed any help.” Lexa smiled. Her eyes moving slowly up and down the naked body in front of her. “Clearly you didn’t need any.”

Clarke nodded and looked away. Viewing her own reflection once again in the mirror. “I will always accept your help. Even when I’m a little grumpy about it and insist that I can do it on my own.”

Lexa came up behind Clarke. Wrapping her arms around her waist she rested her chin on Clarke’s shoulder. “I know I’ve been kind of a pest lately with always asking if you’re okay or if you need anything. I don’t mean to bug you about anything. I just love you so much. You’re doing this incredible thing with carrying our baby and I just want to help as much as I can. I hope you don’t think it’s because I think you can’t do something. You’re the strongest woman I know.”

“I know you’re not Lexa. You have been nothing but attentive and supportive. I love you for it and so much more.”

Lexa pressed her lips against Clarke’s shoulder and moved her hand gently around her stomach. She then placed a kiss just behind Clarke’s ear. “I’ll get Max taken care of. How about after our showers we sit around and be couch potatoes for the rest of the day?”

“That sounds great.” Clarke turned around in Lexa’s arms and slowly kissed her. She smiled when the kiss ended seeing the desire in Lexa’s eyes. _Maybe if I’m not too tired later…_ “See you in a little bit.”

Lexa’s gaze dropped down to Clarke’s butt as she walked by and went into the bathroom. Striding to Clarke’s dresser she pulled out her wife’s favorite set of pajamas and placed them on the bed. After adding her own she left the bedroom. “Okay Max, let’s go.” Opening the back porch door Max squeezed through before the door was fully opened. “Sorry buddy, guess you really had to go.”

Stepping out onto the porch Lexa leaned against the railing hoping Max wouldn’t be too long. She wanted to be able to join Clarke in the shower. They had the rest of the day and Sunday to relax. Monday meant work for the both of them and with no more practices and games that meant she had more time to be at home with Clarke in the evenings. “Good boy,” Lexa praised as Max came running up the porch steps. Lexa held the door for him and they went inside. Opening up the jar of dog treats she gave Max one. Katnip jumped onto the island counter and meowed. “I won’t forget about you either missy.” Lexa picked up the bag of cat treats and placed a few on the counter for Katnip. She scratched the cat behind the ears as she devoured the treats.

On her way to the bedroom she started stripping off her clothes. Throwing her clothes in the laundry basket she quickly took out her contacts. “I’m glad to get those out.” She rubbed her eyes on the way to the bathroom. Looking forward to how the water was going to feel on her body and how Clarke would look all wet Lexa stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.


End file.
